


The Invisible Hunter

by AdventurousJay



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Asami is a badass who invented every piece of entertainment tech, Blood and Violence, Don't really know what I'm doing but I'm trying, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Opal and Asami tease each other too much, Red Lotus, The beginning is cringe worthy, This is sci-fi and really fictional, Warning: Language, because I didn't have a plan, but now I do so bear with me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-08 00:21:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 78,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11070138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdventurousJay/pseuds/AdventurousJay
Summary: Asami Sato is a triple threat: successful CEO, genius mind, and deadly assassin. But her world flips when a new enemy threatens her beloved Republic City and when she meets a strikingly beautiful blue-eyed detective.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I've been reading fanfictions pretty much since I could read and I used to write too but never posted. So here's to hoping you'll enjoy the movie that's been playing in my head for the longest time ever. It's short and will move fairly quickly. Just a quick note: _italics_ are thoughts and **bolds** are emphasis. :D

The night was cold and silent, perfect for what Asami Sato was about to accomplish. Everything had been planned to a T. Nothing would ever go wrong because every possible scenario, every plan of attack was running through her mind. Asami’s trained ears picked up every bit of sound around her from the shaking of the leaves beside her to the stumbling feet of the man down the alleyway.

Asami flexed her muscles while memories of her lifetime of training flashed in her mind. She waited for the perfect moment because her window of opportunity would flash for only a second and if she failed to take it, her whole mission would be a bust. She leaned over the side of the balcony, careful not to leave any traces of her being there as she watched her target head in her direction.

“Yeah, of course I got it.” A pause, “No, no one will catch me. Relax.”

Asami fought hard to hold back her scoff and returned to the task at hand.

The target was finally parallel with the balcony, no one else was in sight and she had taken out all of the cameras outside. Although it didn’t matter, she blended with the shadows because of the hood that covered her face like a ninja and the full body camouflage suit she had invented specifically for her missions. Only her bright green eyes were visible through the opening in the fabric. It was just her and the target.

_Now!_

Asami leaped off the balcony, landing soundlessly on her target’s shoulders. She gripped the man’s head between her legs, leaving him no time to react. As she held her arm a few inches away from his neck, s the hidden blade slithered out of her sleeve. She relished at the feel of the cold metal against her right forearm and could never shake off the rush that feeling gave her. With a practiced hand she sliced her target’s throat. Blood gushed out from the wound, spraying her blade arm.

Asami groaned, _Shit, that’s gonna be hard to get out._

She jumped off, using the man as leverage to help her back onto the balcony. He fell down as more blood spilled onto the concrete. He gargled the blood that had collected in his throat as his wide eyes stared into the darkness. Satisfied that her target was down, she left without a trace. It had all happened in seconds.

~~

“It was a smooth and clean hit. I’m thinking professional,” a forensic analyst pointed to the deep red line along the man’s throat.

The detective squatted down to take a closer look at the victim, “Hmm, but anyone could have sliced a man’s throat open.”

“Okay…but there’s no evidence whatsoever,” the forensic analyst gave her his list of findings but it was pretty much blank except for the details about the man’s untimely death.

The detective’s eyebrows shot up. She straightened her black pantsuit and blazer as she stood. Adjusting the gun at her hip, she turned to the analyst. “Really? Not even a piece of hair?” 

“Did I stutter?” he snapped sarcastically. The detective glared at him, “Uh, sorry. Tired.”

Before the detective could retort back, she was interrupted by her cellphone, “Detective Korra,” she paused and listened, “No, yeah. I’ll be right there.”

“Chief Beifong?”

“Yeah, she needs me back at HQ. Take pictures of everything,” the detective commanded earning a groan from the analyst. She glanced above her, “Check that balcony too. Let me know if you find something.” Detective Korra turned to leave the crime scene blocking out the flashing red and blue lights with her hand.

~~

Asami huffed, these meetings get more boring by the day. Her fingers itched to be in the workshop or even better, on a mission to take out a target. She rubbed her right arm absentmindedly. It was weird not feeling the cold metal of the blade on her arms during the day. It was her safety net, something that always put her at ease.

She sighed again, turning her attention back to one of her subordinates, Varrick. That didn’t help. Varrick’s presence alone irritated Asami to no end. Sure, he was a genius but his antics would get old. His absurd demands to his assistant, Zhu-Li Moon made Asami want to fire him but she kept him around. Sometimes he could be entertaining but it was his ideas that kept him at her company.

_Finally, it’s over._

She left the meeting room and checked the cubicles and offices of her employees to see how each one was doing. She remembered everyone’s names and even some parts about their own personal lives. She loved to see them perk up and animatedly tell them about their pets or their families. A big warm smile graced the CEO’s face. It was a daily thing for her. Running a multi-billion yuan company can take its toll on its CEO and her employees so she made it a point to check on as many people as she could during the day. Satisfied that her employees were doing well, Asami took the elevator up to her office.

“Good morning Ms. Sato,” her secretary beamed at her, “You have a few calls from Cabbage Corp and some other investors.” The secretary handed her a stack of papers along with her schedule, “Also, there’s a party tonight thanking you for your generous offer to the charities in Republic City. The whole city is invited! Gotta give everyone a chance to see the beautiful CEO of Future Industries.” Her secretary winked.

*pft-ahaha* “Thanks Opal,” she gathered the papers and walked into her office but turned back around, “Actually, would you like to come with me? I’d rather not go alone.”

Opal grinned and her bright green eyes filled with excitement, “Of course Ms. Sato! I’d be happy to join you!”

~~

“So, that’s everything. We have to wait on the autopsy results for an identity,” Lin Beifong stated, turning off the computer. She looked at the two head detectives in front of her. Each detective sported a white button-up with their sleeves rolled up halfway. “ We really can’t do anything else. It’s out of my hands.”

***UGGGHHH!***

Korra’s heart was racing, this was the biggest case she’d ever get to work on. And she was forced to do nothing. It was agonizing! She had dreamed of becoming a detective ever since the day she was born. And as soon as she was old enough, she joined the force and quickly climbed the ranks, earning her the title of head detective. All she wanted to do was help the people of Republic City and arrest the right people for their crimes. So being forced to do nothing…well, that went against everything Korra stood for.

“Chief, we can’t just do nothing,” Korra’s partner, Mako said. He was an amazing detective, almost better than Korra. **Almost**. He joined the force for very different reasons than her. He and his brother, Bolin had witnessed the murder of both their parents, leaving them orphaned at a young age. Anger took permanent residence in his heart when he joined the force, vowing to catch the assholes who stripped the brothers of their parents. As soon as he made head detective, Korra and Mako found the people responsible and rightfully put them in jail. That arrest finalized the partnership between the two detectives and together they solved the most cases in the history of Republic City.

“Look, kid what do you want me to do? There were no personal items on the victim, we don’t have motive and there weren’t any witnesses. So, we wait,” Lin crossed her arms over her chest. A final action that signaled they better not try anything, or else.

Korra and Mako slumped, Lin was right. They couldn’t do anything. And even if they tried to, neither of them would have the slightest idea on where to start.

“Oh, by the way,” the Chief started. Mako and Korra perked up, “there’s a party tonight for the CEO of Future Industries. I can’t make it but I want you two to go in my place. Don’t do anything stupid! You’ll make me look bad.” 

“Uh, sure I guess,” Mako said, scratching the back of his head. “But I don’t really feel comfortable going to a party when a serial killer is on the loose.”

“Don’t be a party pooper!” Korra teased, “Chief said to wait, so we wait. Come on, bring your brother with you. It’ll be fun!” She playfully punched Mako’s arm as he sighed. He wouldn’t argue with Korra, he always lost to her anyway.

“Fine.”

~~

“How is the expansion of Future Industries going?”

_Great, another old geezer asking me the same question for the hundredth time tonight_. Asami sighed inwardly and plastered her best CEO smile. Conversations with investors always went like this. The same question, the same response, and the same handshake indicating the closure of a deal. She never understood why investors decided to bring up work during a **party**. 

_Remember they threw you this party so it would be impolite to ignore them. It doesn’t hurt to make a deal out of it though, it just makes more money for Future Industries_.

Asami turned to look at her secretary, who was having as much fun as her. She offered a silent apology to her and vowed to give her extra vacation time after this. She turned back to the old geezers surrounding her table but a quick glimpse at the person walking through the door caught her breath. She did a double take to look at the person again but found the entrance empty. She scanned the room in a desperate search of the beautiful woman.

_There!_

“You’ll have to excuse me,” she said, smiling politely at the old geezers as she stood up to head towards her secretary. “Opal, come with me. I think we’re about to meet someone new.”

Opal nodded, her eyes sparkled with excitement. It wasn’t everyday that you would meet someone new especially since everyone made it a goal in their life to meet the beautiful CEO.

Asami readjusted her slimming red dress and flipped hair over her shoulder to make it all flow on one side. She spotted the woman again, this time she walked with confidence, grace, and the intimidation that was **Asami mother fucking Sato**.

The woman was talking animatedly to the two men she was with but as soon as she saw Asami headed her way, she stopped and gaped. So did the two men and Asami could only smirk.

_Got you._

“Hi, I’m Asami Sato, CEO of Future Industries. Glad you could make it,” she smiled a blinding grin and extended her hand to the woman. She looked at the shorter, dark-skinned woman more closely now that there were only a few feet apart. She wore a beautiful deep blue strapless dress that flowed with every muscular curve of her body and exposed her toned arms. Asami’s eyes wandered to the woman’s middle and saw the outline of abs through the dress. 

_Fucking hot._

Asami took in the wondrous display. She eyed the smooth skin taut over her muscles wanting nothing but to have them wrapped around her. She imagined them lifting her up effortlessly and pushing her against a wall. She’d be devoured in an instant like a predator and its prey. Those strong arms would pin her hands above her head as the soft lips would kiss all of Asami’s exposed body. Every kiss sending shocks, causing her whole body to shudder. Her knees would buckle and she’d moan into the soft brown hair, placing her chin on the woman’s shoulder to help her stand. Every touch from her fingers would leave Asami wanting nothing but them inside of her, gripping and moving with a hunger that could never be satisfied. She imagined the woman’s head moving down, wrenching her legs open—

“Uh, hi,” the beautiful woman said taking her hand in a firm grip and shook, “We’re here on behalf of Chief Lin Beifong of the Republic City Police Department. She gives her thanks,” her response was extremely professional and her grin was lopsided, showing all of her white teeth. Her eyes smiled along with the grin and Asami could only stare at the bright blues. She struggled to prevent herself from getting lost in them. The woman started to scratch the back of her head, her chin-length brown hair moved in time with her hands and she obviously felt awkward underneath Asami’s gaze. _Adorable._

“Well, I’m glad you two came instead. She can be a sour sport sometimes." 

_‘Sour sport?’ Who the fuck says ‘sour sport’?! Get yourself together Sato!_

But then the beautiful woman laughed. It was music to Asami’s ears.

“Aw man,” the woman sighed, clutching her stomach and wiping a tear from her eyes.

_My god, those eyes._

The man standing next to her cleared his throat, “Oh shi—I mean. Introduce ourselves, I mean…fuck me,” the woman sighed exasperated, clearly panicked that she had been rude to the CEO.

_‘Fuck me’? Was that her way of being flustered or was she really trying to drop hints?_

“I’m Korra, and this is Mako and his brother Bolin,” The woman finally regained some composure as she pointed to each man. They all shook Asami’s hand but when she shook Bolin’s hand, she noticed he wasn’t looking at her but at Opal. She glanced at Opal who was staring back, just as intrigued.

Asami smirked, “I forgot some boxes from my Satomobile. Opal, would you mind grabbing them for me?” Opal looked at her boss and her happiness drained from her face as her shoulders slumped. She slowly turned, reluctant to leave the group. “Wait, Bolin. You look strong, do you mind helping her?” Her secretary turned to look back at her. Her eyes shone brighter than ever and her face donned the biggest grin she’d ever seen the woman do. She winked, “Go on you two, I’ll need those by the end of tonight.”

As soon as they were out of earshot, she turned back to Korra, “So, what do you do for Chief Beifong?” Asami was hoping that maybe she was a traffic cop of some sort. It would be trouble for her if this captivating woman was a detective or something like that on the force because well…she wanted to fuck her.

_Who am I kidding? I’m the best assassin in the world and no one has caught me for the past twenty-four years of my life. **AND** I’m the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Still, ‘keep your friends close but your enemies closer’, right?_

“We’re her head detectives,” Korra grinned, looking extremely proud of her status in the force. 

_Great, a detective and the **head detective** at that._

“Whoa! Head detective? Aren’t you a little young to be a head detective?” she teased.

*Hah!*

Korra crossed her arms over her chest and smirked, “Aren’t you a little young to be a CEO?”

Oh she was going to enjoy this.

~~

_Oh my god, shit. What do I do?!_

Korra had been nonchalantly talking with Mako and Bolin but when she had spotted an intimidatingly pale woman heading towards them, everything stopped. She was breathtakingly gorgeous and Korra had never seen a woman so stunning in the past twenty-three years of her life. She had long wavy black hair that flowed down one shoulder, framing her face perfectly. And she wore just the right amount of makeup to accentuate her features. 

And then her eyes… _OH MY GOD, those eyes!_ They were a bright green that stabbed into Korra’s heart making it flutter up to her throat which tightened at the sight of the woman. She found it really hard to speak, especially when she introduced herself as Asami Sato, CEO of Future Industries. And when she found enough courage to sarcastically respond to the CEO, she felt her whole body heat up with excitement. 

Korra could not believe that a woman this beautiful took it upon herself to walk all the way across the room just to introduce herself. She couldn’t help but notice the way the young CEO had eyed her outline and stopped around her middle area to stare at her abs. But she brushed it aside because a woman that powerful and beautiful would definitely not be caught checking out Korra. _Right?_

Asami was enchanting and talked with her—sometimes Mako—all night. She had sent Opal and Bolin away and noticed that they hadn’t come back but Korra didn’t care. This woman had all of her attention and then some.

Everything about her was just so…alluring. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of the woman. The way her deep red dress traced **every single curve** of Asami’s body and the way she carried herself made Korra’s heart beat a thousand times per minute. Asami was confident, smart, and sexy and she knew it.

But all Korra wanted to do was be the target of all that confidence. That enticing confidence that looked at her with half-lidded eyes, ready to devour her at any given time. All she could think about that night was what she wanted this woman to do to her. If she was like this out of the bedroom, she couldn’t even imagine how she would be in bed. The very thought made her shiver with excitement. She wanted those lipstick covered lips to leave marks on every inch of her skin. To run her fingers through the silky smooth hair that flowed effortlessly down her back. To have her tongue licking the most embarrassing parts of her body. To moan Asami’s name pleadingly into her ear. And for those soft, slender fingers to tease her, touch her, and fill her with the pleasure she so desperately wanted. **She wanted her.**

But Korra kept her professionalism, this was the CEO of a ridiculously successful company. She was someone who threw lavish parties and lavish parties were thrown for her. Someone who gave to charity generously, who invented things that people could afford and use, and who was definitely way out of her league.


	2. Chapter 2

“I mean did you see her Mako?!” Korra could not stop talking about the CEO. It was her two hundredth time asking Mako the same question that day.

Mako sighed, “Yes, yes. I saw her.”

“Okay but did you really **see** her?! She’s breathtaking,” she sighed and slumped in her chair.

“Better hide your lady boner, Detective Korra. You’re making your chair wet,” Mako tried to keep a straight face but ended up laughing at his own joke.

“Shut up,” but Korra didn’t stop smiling as she rested her head in her hands.

“Mako! Korra!” Lin’s gruff voice called from her office. As the two detectives shuffled in, she glanced at Korra and frowned, “What’s with her?”

“She met the CEO of Future Industries and now she’s lovestruck,” Mako jerked a thumb in Korra’s direction who somehow managed to continue daydreaming about Asami’s ass. He elbowed her **hard** in the side.

“Wha—oh, sorry Chief,” a goofy grin spread across her face as she scratched her cheek. “Whatcha got?”

“We discovered the identity of our victim and it seems like his death is connected to others. We’re talking about a serial killer here and I think I found the connection,” Lin flipped open the case files on her desk. She pointed to the first victim, a woman in her late thirties who had a deep red line across her throat. “This woman kidnapped children and forced them to work in her factory. She was wanted for child abuse and other countless charges.”

She pointed to the second victim, “A man in his mid twenties who died the same way, same year as the woman. He was wanted for the rape and mutilation of thirty-seven women and children.”

The third victim, “A man in his early thirties, ten years ago. Same cause of death. He was wanted for the murder of many families here in Republic City.”

The fourth victim, then the fifth, and so on until Lin pointed to their most recent victim. “He’s the thirty-fifth victim,” Lin sighed, exhausted from recounting the horrific deaths of the thirty-four people before him. “Turns out, he was the Vice President. There were rumors going around that he was money laundering.”

“So they’re all criminals,” Korra’s head was out of the clouds now. She inspected each case file and read the details of each report.

“Is that so bad?” Mako mused but quickly defended himself, “I mean, they were all criminals. At first we thought they were innocent people but now we find out that they’re wanted for some pretty heinous crimes.”

“Mako. They’re being **killed, murdered** …in cold blood,” the young detective whispered, “Their justice is landing in jail or hell, some even deserved the chair but I still don’t agree with **this**.” She gestured to the small tower of case files.

Lin placed a gentle hand on Korra’s shoulder, “We know the pattern now. We can get this jackass.”

“The Invisible Hunter,” Mako mumbled.

“The what?” Korra and Lin stared at him, dumbfounded.

“The Invisible Hunter,” he said with more confidence, “I’m calling the killer, the Invisible Hunter.”

“This isn’t a game, kid,” Lin sneered.

“Wait, hear me out. Every serial killer has a name: Jack the Ripper, the Human Dracula,” Mako sighed. “Look, this person has killed thirty-five criminals and they’re not gonna stop,” he shrugged. “Plus, we’ll know exactly who we’re talking about if we name the serial killer.”

Lin and Korra pondered the name, “I’ll roll with it.” Lin said with finality. “Now get back to work. Figure out the next target.”

~~

“But sir, should we even continue the project? Every time we send someone out, they end up getting killed,” a man in a white lab coat pleaded with another tall man.

The tall man’s golden eyes glinted, “No, we’ll proceed as planned. Get the subject ready.”

“R-right away, Doctor Sozin,” the man in the white lab coat hurried out of the room.

Dr. Sozin glanced down at the patient file in front of him and a smile graced his face. _This would be the one._

Subject: 036

Name: Noatak

Mental Condition: Normal

Physical Condition: Normal

Notes: Subject is very susceptible to suggestion. The nanobots barely had to work his system before he was under our control. In a few days he will be ready for deployment but we just need a few physical tweaks to deal with whoever is taking our subjects down. The nanobots worked, especially with the success of the Vice President and the money he managed to accrue for us. We have a long way to go but I believe that subject 036 will take us in the right direction. The venom of the Red Lotus bleeds through Republic City.

~~

The newspaper headlines this morning intrigued Asami Sato on her way to her office so she bought one. ‘The Invisible Hunter: A Serial Killer on the Loose,’ it read and the article detailed the death of her latest target and all the targets before him. She grinned, _The Invisible Hunter, huh?_ It had been a week since the party and a little more than a week since her mission with the Vice President. She was surprised it took the press this long to report something this big.

“Ms. Sato? Ms. Satoooo?” Asami blinked, she was too engrossed in the article. What was she supposed to be doing? Oh right, another meeting.

“Yes?” she looked up to see who had rudely interrupted her train of thought.

“Er—are you okay?” It was her secretary, her face was scrunched up in concern.

Asami waved, “Yeah, I’m good.”

She finished up the meeting quickly and chased after her secretary, “So,” she smirked, “last week. What happened between you and Bolin?” Asami’s busy schedule left her barely any time to talk to her secretary so she took this opportunity to finally ask her about Bolin.

Opal blushed a deep shade of red, “Uh, it was good.”

The CEO’s eyebrows shot up, “Oh, just good?”

Her secretary gave up, “He was **amazing** , Ms. Sato! Bolin’s funny and sometimes he can be a dork but he’s still cute,” she bit her lip to stop a grin from forming on her face, “We’re going on a date tonight.”

“Opal, that’s great!” Asami gave her secretary an uncharacteristic hug. She was never the one to be physical with her employees but she had a soft spot for the secretary who never left her side. Without her, Asami would not have been where she was today. This woman was there when her father was thrown in jail and the company was left in her eighteen year-old hands. She was there when the investors had no faith in her judgment and when her company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Opal stayed true to Asami, not even hesitating once.

*Oof!*

“Ms. Sato this is new,” the women pulled apart and awkwardness hung in the air. Asami chuckled followed by Opal, “Anyway, what about **you**? I came back with Bolin and your ‘boxes’ but I saw you ogling the dark-skinned detective.”

Asami stopped laughing and pouted, jutting her chin up in the air, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come on Ms. Sato! I saw you and you were basically **eye-fucking her!** ”

“Opal!” The two women laughed.

Asami struggled to breathe as she clutched her stomach, “She’s way out of my league. I mean did you see her muscles? That dress did nothing but show them off. And don’t get me started with her eyes and she’s smart and funny…” Asami trailed off, already lost in her thoughts.

Opal gaped at her boss, this wasn’t the Asami Sato she came to know. Her office phone was always blowing up with men **and** women asking for a date, hell, even marriage proposals for the beautiful young CEO. “Uh, Ms. Sato have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? You’re Asami Sato, the youngest CEO to ever lead her company into the top ten of the Fortune 500 list. The brightest mind Republic City has been blessed to have! The mind that created Satomobiles, our phones, and even reconstructed the City to work more efficiently. **The Asami Sato** who invents shit in her free time and a kick ass martial artist too!” Her secretary shot a hand up to her mouth, realizing that she had just cussed in front of her boss.

Asami laughed and waved off Opal’s embarrassment, “Yeah, I’m all those things but in front of a beautiful woman like Detective Korra, I’m a sitting turtleduck. I don’t even know how I was able to hold a proper conversation with her that night. It took all of my willpower not to stare at her ass!” Asami’s face blushed a bright red and the two women giggled, “Alright, alright. Come on, let’s get back to work. I’ll be in my personal workshop downstairs, shoot me a text if you need me.” Opal nodded, grinning wide like the same one she wore to the party.

~~

Mako and Korra sat in their police cruiser eating their salads and watching the police scanner. He gave up and sighed, “Ugh, nothing!” It had been a week since they started the Invisible Hunter case and the two detectives hit a wall so listening to the police scanner was a well deserved break for the two.

“Wait! Stare a little bit more, I think you’re on to something!” she laughed.

He glared at her, “Fuck you. What about Asami Sato, huh?”

Korra’s fork stopped midway to her mouth. She shrugged, “Yeah, what about her?” she took a bite.

“Ask her out,” he deadpans.

*pfffftt cough cough* “What?! Mako, it’s been a week since the party, she’s probably forgotten—“

“10-79 at the Republic City Soccer Arena. All units please respond,” the scanner finally cackled to life interrupting her reply. Mako scrambled to put away their salads in the to go bags just as she flipped the sirens on and shifted the cruiser into gear.

Mako lifted the receiver on the scanner, “10-4 HQ, Detective Korra and Detective Mako en route.”

“Korra! Mako!” Lin’s voice interrupted the poor dispatcher’s reply, “Don’t do anything until the bomb squad gets there! Thousands of people are inside and I have the feeling that one of you is gonna be stupid and set it off somehow. There are already other units en route so do as much as you can to help evacuate but do not, I repeat **do not** engage. I am not losing my two best detectives today, you hear that?!”

“Copy that, Chief,” Mako hung up, grinning at the Chief’s last comment and checked his gun. 

They finally reached the arena and screeched to a halt a good distance away from it. Korra rushed out of the cruiser and saw thousands of people running away from the arena. It was chaos.

Korra spotted a child who was crying as everyone around him pin-balled him back and forth, “Mako! Check inside, I’m gonna bring this kid to the cruiser!” Mako nodded and sprinted up the stairs, his gun ready in his hands. “Hey buddy! We’ll find mommy and daddy in a second, I’m Detective Korra. Will you come with me to my awesome police cruiser where it’s safe?” The child sniffled and nodded, “Perfect, hop on my back and hold on tight! We’re going for a ride!” She hoisted the child on her back and grabbed his legs to further support his weight. She took a deep breath and sprinted him to safety. _I hope I parked it far enough away just in case this arena does blow._

Fear creeped into Korra’s head as she reached the vehicle. She helped the boy slide down from her back and allowed him to climb in, “I’ll be right back, okay buddy?” She ruffled the kid’s hair as he nodded again and rubbed at his eyes. The detective closed the door and ran back towards the arena.

“Mako?!”

“Korra! In here!” Mako’s voice carried through one of the tunnels that led to the bleachers. 

She raced towards his voice, “What is it?” He pointed at the soccer field. The arena was basically empty except for a man in a mask who stood in the center of the field with his arms raised towards the sky. “What the fuck?!” Then suddenly he was gone, almost at a superhuman speed as he ran off into one of the tunnels where the soccer teams emerge from. “Mako! We need to get out of here!”

_Fuck! Faster! We’re not gonna make it!_

Mako and Korra raced outside, thankfully the arena was completely evacuated by then so they didn’t run into any civilians. They reached the end of the stairs that led up to the arena.

***BOOM!***

Korra could feel the vibrations shake her body causing her to lose her footing. She felt the heat of the flames creep up on her back and the burning sensation that followed.

_Damn it!_

The two detectives rolled out into the street where the arena’s spectators and players were safely gathered. They turned around to see the arena completely destroyed.

“Everyone move back! Further back!” Mako was already yelling at the civilians. His back had the same scorch marks that were probably on Korra’s too. She sighed in relief, they made it. Firefighter trucks began to pile up behind the crowd, “Make a path guys!” The crowd separated, allowing the firetrucks to make it to the arena. Firefighters clambered out of their trucks and began working on the fire.

Korra sighed, glad that everyone was safe but something was poking her at the back of her mind, “Oh my god, Mako, the kid!” The young detective raced back to the police cruiser but the kid was nowhere inside. _Where?! Where is he?!_

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Korra turned around to face the parents. They were covered in dust and their arms showed fresh road rashes from the chaos that had ensued. Tear streaks lined their cheeks as they thanked her again and gathered her into a hug.

“Don’t sweat it,” she smiled, her own eyes stinging with tears but she held them back, “Go to an ambulance and get yourselves checked but I’m glad that none of you are hurt.” The family nodded and turned to head towards one of the ambulances that just arrived.

“Miss, what’s your name?” the little boy spoke up, his voice was calmer now that he was in the arms of his mother.

“It’s Korra, kid,” she smiled her goofy grin and headed back towards the cruiser, ignoring the stinging sensation from the road rashes on her arms, “Mako, inform Chief Beifong that no one was hurt and tell her about the man in the mask.”

~~

“What the fuck is going on?!” Asami growled, angrily pacing her office. She received the text from Opal telling her about some bomb threat at the soccer arena. She made a rule with her secretary that whenever she was in her personal workshop, only emergencies could interrupt her and this was definitely one. She turned on the TV in her office and switched on the news. The two watched in horror as the events unfolded.

“We have reporters on the scene right now. The arena is currently being evacuated with the help of police officers who were able to reach the scene in time,” Shiro Shinobi’s voice filled her office. The camera cut to a shot of a certain dark-skinned detective carrying a crying boy away from the arena.

_Oh my god, I hope she’s alright._

An aerial shot of the arena filled the screen and displayed a man wearing a hooded jacket with a yellow and white mask that had a red dot at the top of its forehead. He stood in the middle of the arena with his arms open towards the sky and he stared directly at the news camera.

Asami shivered and then the man was gone, almost in the blink of an eye but her well trained eyes could see that the man was enhanced with something. _No one can move as fast as that, not without the training I went through or…there’s something else going on._

Then the screen shook violently and the connection to the news center slightly faltered. Asami could feel and hear the bomb go off, even in her office. _That’s a powerful bomb, probably enough to collapse the whole arena._

_Korra!_

Asami desperately searched the screen again, looking for any telltale signs of the dark-skinned detective. As the screen cut to an interview with a family, they turned and pointed towards one of the police cruisers, “That’s her! She saved our son!”

The camera turned, zooming in on one of the police cruisers. It revealed the dark-skinned detective, looking like she had gone through hell and back, grinning impishly and returning a happy wave to the little boy. But she was safe and that’s all that mattered to Asami.

She fell into her chair, exhausted from the worry and anxiety she just went through. “Ms. Sato? Are you okay?” Her secretary asked her for the second time today.

She nodded, “Yeah, just freaked a little bit because Korra was on the scene and then the bomb went off. I’m just glad she’s—that everyone is safe.”

Opal smirked, “Look at youuu, all worried for her safety. Just ask her out, although I’m glad no one was hurt.”

*cough* “Go back to work Opal.”

“Yes ma’am!”

Asami turned back to face her desk. _Who was that man? How did he move that fast?_ She grinned because she had a target and a challenging one at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I may or may not have already written like the first two chapters. Sorry, not sorry ;D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much for your kudos, comments, and bookmarks. It means a lot to me and I really hope you're all having fun! I love you all, no really I do. :D

“Mornings are evil, Mako! Whyyy?” Korra was rudely woken up this morning around ten and was forced to get out of bed to train with Mako. Training with him was normal but training this early was definitely not. 

 

“Because it’s been two months and we haven’t made a breakthrough with any of our cases and I am not going to have my partner sleep in and be late for work,” he said as he fixed the gloves on his hand.

 

“Yeah but I could have just worked out at night,” she groaned, fixing her own gloves. She put on her padded helmet and stepped into the ring.

 

“No. The bomber already hit a shopping center yesterday. We need to catch that bomber **and** the Invisible Hunter,” Mako was stubborn and headstrong. Sometimes Korra wondered how they even became partners or how they even got along. Sometimes it felt like they were the same ends of a magnet, constantly repelling each other but then other times they would work so perfectly together they might as well have been working like one of Asami Sato’s successful inventions. Speaking of…

 

*Oof!*

 

“Heyyy! I wasn’t ready!” Korra huffed and turned to face her partner but saw a foot speeding towards her face. She quickly ducked, twisting her body forward in order to get into Mako’s space. She sent a quick one-two jab at his stomach and then started a left uppercut to his chin.

 

But he had already jumped back causing her to hit nothing. She straightened up and prepared her stance again, staying light on her feet. He lunged, aiming for her face but she weaved out of the way. She jumped back into his space and started twisting her body, allowing her to follow through with her punches. Each punch connected causing him to put up his hands to block her next attack. _Bad idea, Mako_. She smirked as she forced an uppercut through his hands, it connected with his chin and he fell back, staggering to the floor.

 

“Never wake me up before noon,” she huffed, leaning over Mako. She extended an arm to help him stand.

 

He groaned and took the offered hand, “You’re right, mornings are evil.”

 

Korra laughed and stepped out of the ring. Even though mornings were evil, she was awake now and decided to finish up her workout. She reached a stationary punching bag and proceeded to warm up her legs. A rear roundhouse kick to the bag sent it swinging back and forth in its place. She jumped and performed quick one-two kicks from each of her legs. She began punching the bag to work on her arms. Her abs flexed as she twisted with her body, adding more force to her punches. Each punch that connected with the bag caused it to teeter aggressively on its stand.

 

*CRASH!*

 

_Oops_.

 

Korra lifted the punching bag back into position and patted its rough surface. Satisfied, she used her forearm to wipe the sweat that was dripping down her forehead and she sauntered back to her gym bag to take a swig of water. When her thirst was quenched she headed towards the pull-up bar.

 

“You’re scary,” Mako tilted his head towards the punching bag.

 

*pft-ahaha!*

 

~~

 

Mornings were never Asami’s best friend. She absolutely loathed them especially since she was up today at the same time as the sun. Her search for the masked man was taking too long, two months to be exact and it was getting her nowhere. He had successfully bombed a shopping center yesterday, killing five people and injuring countless others. She was starting to get frustrated. Last night she decided to work on a program that she could use on her computer to help her narrow down the search but first, she needed to clear her head.

 

The sun lazily greeted Asami through the windows, making the training room hotter than it needed to be. She sighed, she **really** hated mornings but she dutifully ran through her stretches before taking her place in front of a wooden block full of upside down nails.

 

She took a deep breath and placed her hands on the bed of nails in front of her. The sharp ends felt like cushions underneath instead of the stabbing feeling they supposedly entailed. She exhaled as she extended her legs in front of her and then slowly brought them behind her. She flexed her arms and began to push her body off the floor until her feet were pointing towards the ceiling and her arms were extended. Slowly, she bent her arms to perform a handstand push up, inhaling as she moved down. She exhaled again as she pushed herself back up, completing the motion. She continued until her arms couldn’t anymore and slowly she let her body creep towards the earth.

 

Working out was the best part of Asami’s day. Sure, her workouts were a little…okay **very** unconventional but hell, she was an assassin and nothing about that was ordinary. Sipping her water, she used a towel to wipe her face of the sweat that drenched her. She walked to a rack of weapons and studied it before deciding to start slow and simple with a katana. She dropped the towel and water bottle, centering herself in the middle of the room and began to swing. Her arms flexed with ease as she moved through the motions.

 

With a final swing, she abandoned the katana and picked up a kurasigama: a long chain with a sickle attached to its end. It was probably the hardest she had to master but it ended up being the one she enjoyed using the most. The chains rattled wickedly as it circled around her in the air. She thrusted and sent the sickle flying forward then she quickly jerked to the left so it could circle around her once again. It was one of the most exhilarating feelings in the world for her. She turned, flipped, and danced around the room gracefully, all while expertly wielding the weapon. A smile was tattooed on her face as she maneuvered it. She finished working with the weapon and placed it on the floor, grabbing another sip of water.

 

Asami moved to the next portion of the training room where thick black foam poles and foam covered walls stood obediently waiting for her. She hovered over the table that was lined with various sharp throwing devices. She ran her hand over the cold metal before finally picked out the kunais and shuriken. Standing in the middle of the poles, she inhaled and in the blink of an eye she threw a kunai at a pole behind her. It sunk, deep into the pole with a resounding thud. Within the next second, she threw three shuriken to her right and three to her left. All six hit their marks with the metal bodies practically halfway in. She threw the final weapons she had in her hand at the wall in front of her and they all landed within the small white target.

 

_Whew!_

 

She picked up her towel and water, wiping her sweaty face. She meticulously placed every weapon back into its home, carefully wiping the blades. When the training room was cleared she moved to another portion of the room.

 

It housed the large computer that she’d put the program into later on that day and various tools were strewn about everywhere. Forgotten blueprints for weapons crowded the cork board wall to her left and unfinished projects cluttered the many tables in the area. Her camouflage suits stood neatly on headless mannequins that lined the wall to her right. The storage area for each suit contained weapons and gadgets used during a mission. She expertly examined and restocked each area making them ready for use at any given moment.

 

She switched on one of the police scanners that she kept in all areas of her loft. She never thought she’d have to use it but since her target was a bomber, she needed to keep her ears open for any reports of a possible bomb threat.

 

Sighing, she plopped down in front of one of the workbenches to work on her latest invention: a shock glove. Right now, it could incapacitate a target but she wanted it to deliver a one hit kill. It needed to be more powerful and small. The current prototype was awkward and bulky which would not be efficient with the suits she invented. It was difficult to accomplish considering this technology existed only within her loft’s walls.

 

Satisfied with the progress she made, she turned off the scanner and walked up the stairs into the living room. It was lavish to say the least and she always wondered why she lived alone in such a large loft. At the top of the stairs, she pressed a hand to the clean white wall beside the entrance. A white panel slid into place, locking with a silent click. The door disappeared into the wall, leaving no lines or evidence that a door even existed there.

 

Once she was sure that the door was hidden, she turned and walked to the kitchen. The kitchen had sleek white cabinets and drawers with matching silver appliances that glinted with the sun. She switched on another police scanner and set to work to prepare breakfast.

 

It was quiet except for the barely audible reports of the police scanner which allowed her to think about the computer program. She stared ahead of her, running numbers and ideas for the program, as her eggs sizzled in the pan. With breakfast cooked and plated, she moved to the living room.

 

Placing her piping hot eggs on the coffee table in front of her, Asami grabbed her notebook and pen. She began to record the ideas in her head, her breakfast already forgotten.

 

Almost three hours later, she decided to take a break and finally eat her _probably cold,_ breakfast.

 

Wall to floor windows created an open view of the ocean in front of her. She was glad that she decided not to put a TV in front of the couch because it would just obstruct the beautiful view that she was currently witnessing. She never got tired of it, maybe that’s why she chose to build her home at this location. She stabbed a piece of egg and looked to the ocean again. She was mesmerized by how the waves flowed, the ocean’s deep blue waves pulling her in with each crash on the shore.

 

_Like Korra’s eyes…_

 

She shot up, shaking her head. _What?_ Was she really thinking about the dark-skinned detective almost two months after the party? She shook her head again and turned back to her notebook, forcing all thoughts of Korra’s sexy eyes to the back of her mind.

 

She wasn’t given a chance to get back to her work though because the police scanner finally reported something of interest to Asami. Her trained ears listened for the details of the report, “I repeat, 10-79 at the Republic City Basketball Stadium, all unit please respond.” She shot up without hesitation, heading back down to the training room where her suits waited.

 

~~

 

Lin called the detectives into her office as soon they entered the precinct. She clenched her hands into fists, upset at herself for allowing another bombing to happen, “What’s this guy’s deal? We can’t even track him! First, it was the soccer arena and then a goddamn shopping center.”

 

Mako’s jaw was set in a hard line, the veins in his forehead throbbing as he gritted his teeth, “He’s moving quickly. It took him under two months to bomb the center. How is he able to get everything together that fast?”

 

“Well, one, did you see the way he moved out of the arena? It was like he teleported!” Korra exclaimed. She paced Lin’s office, flipping through the case file, “And two, planning a bombing is fairly easy. Literally, all you have to do is place a bomb in a bag and leave it on the floor.”

 

“Hmm,” Mako joined her to look at the case file, “Maybe we should be checking structures with high amounts of traffic.”

 

“But that’s basically **every** public building in Republic City!” Korra groaned, realizing that maybe this is one they just wouldn’t be able to catch. “Should we…” she paused, unsure if what she was about to say would be appropriate, “set a trap?”

 

“No,” came Lin’s immediate response, “It’s too dangerous. I’m not putting innocent lives at risk.” The Chief placed a hand on Korra’s shoulder, a familiar and comforting feeling for her, “Don’t worry kid, we’ll get him.”

 

With that, Mako and Korra shuffled out of the Chief’s office. “Where are we supposed to start?” she was at a loss. The bomber moved sporadically and there was no way to tell where the next attack would be. 

 

“We’ll figure out something, Korra. We always do,” He assured her before turning to his own desk. He rubbed his temples, already lost in his thoughts.

 

Three hours passed and the two detectives still couldn’t think of anything. But then Lin slammed open the door to her office. “You two! Dispatch just reported a bomb threat at the Republic City Basketball Stadium. Go, now!”

 

They were already out the door, racing to the police cruiser. “He just bombed the shopping center yesterday and today its the basketball stadium! Fuck!” Korra exclaimed as they climbed into the cruiser. She shifted into gear and sped down the streets towards the basketball stadium.

 

Mako didn’t say anything. She glanced at her partner and noticed his hands were shaking, “Mako! Hey! Come on man, we got this,” she reassured her partner. He only nodded. She was scared too. They barely made it out alive during the first bombing and they probably would’ve been hurt or worse for the second. This third bomb posed the same threat but she pushed the paranoia out of her head. They sat in silence as she weaved through traffic.

 

They finally reached the stadium and bolted up the stairs. But no one was there. The stadium was empty. No one was screaming and panicking, no one was pushing and shoving other people to get out of the way. No, no one was there. The place was empty…except for the man in the mask in the middle of the basketball court. Only the court was lit but his eyes were able to settle on the two detectives as soon as they darted inside.

 

~~

 

Asami arrived at the stadium well before the police. Silently, she entered but it was empty. The stadium seats were dark but the basketball court was lit. Like spotlights, the court displayed the only other person in there with her: the man in the mask who stood in the center circle with a black duffle bag at his feet. He didn’t seem to notice her presence so she soundlessly climbed the light fixture above the stadium seats. She watched him but he wasn’t doing anything. He just stood there, staring in front of him.

 

She heard the shuffling of feet, two people to be exact and watched in horror as they entered the stadium. It was Korra and Mako, panting as they tried to catch their breaths.

 

_No, please, you shouldn’t be here. It’s too dangerous_ , she thought, desperately thinking of a way to get Korra to leave. But as soon as the detectives stopped at the railing overlooking the court, the man moved. It was almost too fast for anyone to catch but she did. He was looking at the two detectives as he raised his arms, almost as if he was welcoming them.

 

“Ah,” the voice that filled the stadium was gravelly and deep. It sent shivers down Asami’s spine. “Republic City’s finest detectives decide to join us.”

 

_Us?! Did he notice me? No, he couldn’t have._

 

She saw Korra looking in her direction, trying to find out what the man meant by ‘us’ but saw no one. 

 

“Who are you?!” Korra yelled, Asami heard the anger and frustration in her words. “What do you want?!” The man’s body was completely turned to face the detectives now. And the laugh he let out felt like nails scratching across a chalkboard. It was frightening.

 

“I am Amon,” the man twisted his arm to face his palm towards the detectives. He gestured to the black duffle bag, “I have a present for you.” Then the man twisted his neck until it looked like it was broken. Asami’s blood drained from her face as he stared directly into her eyes, “And for you.”

 

The man turned back to the two detectives that occupied the stadium with her, then his body wavered and he disappeared. Which is what it probably looked like to the detectives but she saw it all.

 

The man had faced her again but it was so fast that she was sure the detectives wouldn’t be able to catch it. A smile shone in his eyes that made her tremble and then he turned to the exit behind him. His fingers twitched ever so slightly and she heard a click, then a hiss and he began sprinting away. It was different seeing the man move in person. She couldn’t quite catch the movement on the news two months ago but now, she could see it perfectly. He moved too fast for any normal person to see.

 

Korra stayed in her spot across from Asami. Her mouth was open as she stared, astonished at what the man just did. Mako was shaking her shoulders aggressively, yelling at her. “Korra! Korra, let’s go! What if it’s another bomb?!” That snapped Korra out of her daze. She turned, wide-eyed and the two began sprinting away. Asami watched the pair scrambling to leave the stadium.

 

As soon as they were out of sight, she meticulously removed herself from above the seats and made her way towards the bag. She knew it wasn’t a bomb, it couldn’t have been. The man in the mask targeted areas that would cause the most casualties and two detectives and one assassin did not fulfill his requirement. _So, the bag wasn’t a bomb_. She kept reassuring herself but she still couldn’t shake the fear of her being wrong.

 

Carefully, she unzipped the bag and peered inside. She recoiled at the sight of the bomb, ready to leave the stadium but it didn’t explode. She looked inside again. There were two bombs and two notes, probably one for her and one for the detectives. She slowly removed one of the bombs and noticed that it wasn’t primed, she sighed in relief. Tucking the note into a hidden pocket in her suit, she wrapped the bomb in a makeshift bag and attached it to her belt. She made sure it was secure and that it wouldn’t go off with the movement of her legs while she ran. She zipped the bag up again to make it look untouched.

 

Before the detectives could come back, Asami left, leaving no evidence of her presence. She climbed the rooftops to stay out of sight of the two detectives and reached her white Satomobile a few blocks away. She opened the doors, careful not to hit the bomb. As she settled in, she pressed a button and the windows blackened allowing complete privacy. She pressed another button above her head and her seat swiveled 180 degrees. At the same time, the back seat folded in on itself and a table had replaced it. She pulled on a pair of latex gloves and reached for the bomb to begin examining it.

 

It was a simple bomb with a small black screen on the top. Asami realized it was safe to dismantle so she took apart the detonator. She discovered that it could go off with a remote detonator or it could be set on a timer. She wasn’t sure if this single bomb took out the soccer arena and the shopping center so she didn’t examine it further, not wanting to risk it. The only clear thing was that Amon, the man in the mask, could place this anywhere he wanted and walk away, or rather disappear to detonate it. She leaned back in her seat, the bomb was getting her nowhere but then she remembered the note that came with it. She reached into the pocket and unfolded it, smoothing out the creases.

 

It was typed and printed on white paper. Asami inspected it closer but found no smudge marks from the ink that could leave a fingerprint or any other kind of evidence that could identify this man. “Tomorrow night. Basketball stadium. It’s finished. The venom of the Red Lotus bleeds through Republic City.”

 

Asami rolled her eyes and sighed, _Why do criminals always have to be mysterious?_

 

She folded the note, putting it back in her pocket. She pressed a button above her and her seat turned back round. Punching in the coordinates to her loft, the vehicle roared to life and she sat back, finally able to relax. She pulled out a notebook and began writing numbers and ideas down for computer program, allowing the vehicle to auto-pilot her home. But this time, she knew who won the man was, she didn’t need the program to search for him. No, her search would be for the last sentence of the note. _The Red Lotus…who could they be? And how did he move that fast?_

 

Asami replayed the movement of the man in her head. She remembered the click and the hiss sound before he ran away. _It must be some kind of mechanism he activates that lets him move at an inhuman speed. What was it_?

 

When she pulled up to her house, she gathered the bomb and the note. She pressed a button on the keys and the Satomobile began to park itself. Once she was inside, she ran downstairs to the training room. Her computer program wasn’t even close to being done so she abandoned the project for the time being. She thought back to the sounds she heard earlier. _It’s definitely something that activates. The hiss sounded like some kind of release of pressure, like an injection. Wait, I know what it is!_

 

She raced upstairs. She skipped the elevator that was stationed right next to her stairs and took the steps three at a time. Reaching the third floor, she slapped the door open. A large tank stood in the middle of the room, filled with a viscous liquid.

 

_Amon would inject himself with something before running. It’s an enhancement, it has to be. There’s no way he could move like that on his own. It was an injection, I’m sure of it. But that’s impossible! He can’t be like me…_

 

She turned to face the large tank in the room and stared in shock.

 

~~

 

“We should just cancel it! Shut down the stadium for the night,” Korra said, her knuckles resting on the Chief’s desk.

 

“No,” Lin said, abruptly.

 

“No?! Are you fucking kidding me, Chief?!” Korra stared at her chief in disbelief. Was she really going to let innocent people die, knowing that there’s going to be an attack tomorrow night? No, her chief would never let that happen. She couldn’t let it happen.

 

“Watch it, kid,” Lin retorted. “No, if we cancel, the man in—Amon will know. Think about it. Why would he give us bombs **and** tell us where and when he’ll attack?”

 

The young detective stayed quiet for a few moments and then the blood drained from her face, “Shit,” she breathed, “they’ll go off if he finds out we cancel.” Lin nodded, “Then what the fuck are we supposed to do?!” Korra was at a loss for the second time that day. It was a feeling she wasn’t really used to.

 

“We could station police officers in the stadium to monitor the game. We’ll sweep the area before the game to check for bombs,” Mako said, holding his chin in thought.

 

“Mako! You’re a genius!” Korra exclaimed.

 

“Thanks, I know,” he said.

 

She rolled her eyes, “Chief, can we do it? Will it work?”

 

Lin sighed, “It’s the only thing we can do. Good work, kid.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the super late update! I hope you're still interested in my story!
> 
> So while I was writing this, I definitely feel like Asami is kind of like a certain caped superhero whose name rhymes with "fat pan" but you know, he's a badass and so is Asami. :D As always, thank you so so much for your kudos and comments. <3

It was the night of the game but instead of friendly banter between the two team’s fans, the atmosphere was uneasy. Spectators eyed the police officers stationed around the stadium, wondering why a simple basketball game required the police. The sweep the police did beforehand turned up with nothing so officers were searching every thirty minutes in the hopes of finding and preventing the bombing.

 

Asami was already inside, stationed on the same light fixture as yesterday, ready to face Amon. But he was nowhere to be found and the sweeps gave nothing for her to work with. Frustrated, she left her perch and walked into the hall, towards the locker rooms. Her camouflage suit flickered as it adjusted to her surroundings. Spectators filled the halls but she was able to move around them like she was part of the painted walls. She hid her face away from spectators so she wouldn’t look like a pair of floating green eyes. She found one of the locker rooms and silently slipped inside. 

 

But she froze, _shit, someone’s here!_

 

Quickly, she slithered into an open space between two lockers. Her suit flickered again to mimic her surroundings. She whipped her head to face the wall so her suit could take full advantage of its camouflage ability. 

 

“You think he chickened out?” It was Korra, who was searching for explosives extremely close to Asami’s hiding spot. 

 

“Nah, this guy is too smart. He’s got something up his sleeve,” Mako replied from across the room.

 

Korra sighed, “Come on man, there’s nothing in here. Let’s get a hot dog, I’m **starving**!” she walked up to Mako and slung her arm around his shoulders.

 

“Korra, I don’t think this is—hey!” she started to drag him out of the locker room.

 

“You’re buying. Punishment for waking me up before noon yesterday.”

 

He groaned, “Wasn’t it payback enough for knocking me on my ass?”

 

“Nope! And I’m getting twenty hotdogs!” she exclaimed as they left the room. Another one of Mako’s groans reverberated through the halls.

 

Asami chuckled, _looks like I’m not the only one who hates mornings_.

 

She detached herself from her hiding place and turned off the camouflage on her suit but noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She whipped her head towards the sound but a hand shot out from the shadows, gripping her throat. Amon stepped out, his eyes gleaming with a sinister smile. She stared in horror as she clawed at the arm at her throat and kicked her feet around uselessly.

 

“They told me about you,” Amon sneered, “But they didn’t tell me how easy it would be to kill you.”

 

Asami’s eyes flashed in anger as she swung her legs up, hooking her right heel behind his neck and placing her hands on his arm. She put all the strength she could muster into her right leg and twisted her hips to the right while twisting her torso to the left.

 

*CRACK!*

 

Amon fell to the floor. With his arm broken, his death grip on her loosened. She scrambled back up, clutching her throat and gasping for air. She tried to get distance from Amon but he was already standing. He lunged for her but she quickly ducked underneath, driving a kunai across his stomach. He was unfazed though, even when blood began to pour out of the wound. She backed out of the room, staring in horror at his intestines that were basically falling out.

 

Amon followed her into the hallway, his eyes bloodshot and hungry for the kill. Shoving spectators aside, he placed a bloody hand on the wall to brace himself and made his way towards her. His pace was slow, but his eyes were trained on her, telling her that no matter how fast she ran, he would still kill her. Dread filled her entire body as she made her way towards the basketball court.

 

*AHHHHH!*

 

The blood-curdling scream filled the halls. The woman stood behind Asami, pale-faced and pointing a shaky finger at Amon. 

 

“Get everyone out of here!” Asami ordered the woman, “Now!” She turned back to face Amon, throwing three shuriken at him. But all he did was raise his left arm. The shuriken landed deep into the skin of the man but he continued to walk.

 

_Fuck!_

 

She found herself in a section of stadium seats with the basketball court below her. Spectators were scrambling all around her in an attempt to leave. Police officers directed the foot traffic away from the fight and towards the exits. She turned and jumped down into the court, _Good, an open area. You can do this, Sato!_

 

She pushed away the screams echoing in the stadium and focused on Amon. The world around her quieted as she closed her eyes and steadied her breath, waiting for the sound of Amon’s feet to hit the court.

 

She heard a soft thump. It was just her and her target, no one else. _Now!_

 

She swiftly opened her eyes to see a completely different Amon. He wasn’t staggering anymore. He stood up straight, glaring at her. He took off his mask, revealing a scarred face. It was so distorted that she wasn’t sure it was even a face.

 

“What the fuck?!”

 

Asami turned towards the voice but she already knew who it was: Korra. _Shit, she can see my face!_

 

“His face…” Korra started to say. _Duh, your mask is still on. Fuck Sato! What’s with you?! Stop letting her distract you!I_

 

In the deepest and roughest voice Asami could create, she yelled at Korra with a disguised voice through her mask, “Get out of here! It’s not safe!” It was a little muffled but she saw Korra turn to face her, eyes flickering with something but Asami couldn’t make out what it was. But that was all she saw of Korra.

 

A click and a hiss behind her stopped her in her tracks. With wide-eyes, she turned to face the bomber.

 

“Ah, that’s better,” Amon sneered.

 

He swung his arm towards her with lightning fast speed. Asami was sure that no one else was going to see the battle that was about to happen. She had to finish her mission, fast. She had to get out of there before anyone can find out who she is and before anyone else got hurt.

 

_Before Korra could get hurt._

 

Amon was quick but she matched his speed.

 

She ducked and slid on her knees towards him. Pulling out two kunais, she swiftly sliced his thighs. _Damn, that didn’t do anything!_ He whirled around, reaching for her legs. His hands found her limb and he lifted her up. The ridiculous amount of strength he possessed dangled her like a worm. He paused, standing there, tightening his grip on her right ankle.

 

*AAAGHH!*

 

She heard the deafening crack of her ankle breaking and felt the warm blood that started to drip down her leg. He easily tossed her to the side, her blood leaving her body and against the stadium seats. 

 

*CRACK! CRACK!*

 

Her ribs had broken. She felt blood start to fill her lungs and throat. Before she could choke on it, she coughed out the blood and felt her ribcage scream in agony. Ignoring her injuries, Asami slowly stood up, ready to face Amon again. 

 

“Hey asshole!” It was Korra’s voice.

 

_No. Korra! Don’t!_

 

***BANG!***

 

The bullet hit its mark: right in the middle of Amon’s forehead. The distorted face twisted into a smile as his body started to slump. “I am free,” he whispered as he fell to the floor. 

 

A wave of relief flooded through Asami as she confirmed the kill. The bomber could no longer hurt her, hurt her city…hurt Korra. It surprised her that she was still thinking about Korra in that way, or even at all. Something was just…there was just something about her. Sure, they had only met once but it felt like they were being pulled towards each other like magnets. Asami had never felt this way about anyone especially since she was taught at such a young age to always hold everyone around her at an arm’s length away. Her walls were built so high and so strong that sometimes she couldn’t see over them herself. But this detective, those blue eyes…one look from them and Asami saw the very first crack start to creep along her defenses.

 

“Hey! Are you okay?” Korra said and started to make her way towards Asami.

 

_Shit!_

 

Asami switched her camouflage back on. She took out a smoke bomb and threw it at her feet. 

 

She groaned, _smoke bombs are so tacky._ But she needed to get out of there. As fast as her body could, she left the scene and didn’t stop until she had reached her Satomobile. She pulled off her mask and entered the coordinates to Future Industries. She sighed, the leather was so comforting. She was ready for it to swallow her up in a warm embrace. _Not yet, Sato. Don’t pass out yet!_

 

_~~_

 

“Ms. Sato?” Opal climbed out of her Satomobile and noticed the white one next to hers that definitely didn’t belong to her boss. There wasn’t supposed to be anything parked here for the whole week because her boss was on vacation, so who was this? She knocked on the black window, “Hey! You have to park somewhere else!” She heard shuffling inside and the door opened, revealing a very bloody CEO.

 

“Asami?! We have to get you to a hospital!” Opal leaned in, ready to lift her boss out of the vehicle.

 

Asami groaned, “No hospital…get in.”

 

“But—“

 

“Please!” Asami pleaded silently with her eyes as much as she could. The secretary climbed in without another word and closed the doors. The CEO entered the coordinates to her loft and the Satomobile headed to its destination. _These seats feel really nice. I’m just gonna close my eyes for a bit…_

 

_~~_

 

“Asami! Wake up! Please! I have no idea what to do!” 

 

“Huh? Wha?” Light blinded Asami’s eyes. She blinked and looked around. Her secretary was there with a gentle hand placed on her shoulder. “Unghh…” She tried to get up but her ribs and ankle screamed in agony. The pain shot adrenaline through Asami, waking her up, “Get me inside. I’ll explain everything.”

 

Opal carefully helped her out of the car and into the loft. Asami tried to ignore the worried eyes trained on her and the violently shaking hands wrapped around her waist. 

 

“Upstairs,” she breathed once they were inside.

 

“What?! You seriously think you can make it up those stairs?”

 

“Hah!” she laughed, weakly. The adrenaline from before already fading, “I forgot.” She let out a pained moan as she struggled to life her arm. She gestured to the structure next to the stairs, “Elevator. Third floor.”

 

“Alright, I got you,” Opal soothed. She brought them to the elevator and pressed three. 

 

“Whoa…” Opal breathed once they entered the room. 

 

It was completely white with a large tank in the middle. Large tubes fed into the tank, filling it with a mysterious fluid. A control panel and a monitor sat close by. Asami limped over to it and pressed a series of buttons. With a loud groan, the tank came to life. It drained the fluid as an oxygen mask fell from the top. “Be right back, Opal. Just gonna rest real quick,” she groaned as she stepped inside.

 

Grabbing the mask, she placed it over her face and closed her eyes. The tank door closed and began to fill with the strange liquid. Asami floated within the liquid, allowing it to consume her.

 

“Ms. Sato!” Opal ran to the tank, pounding on its walls. “Asami!” There was no response except for the steady beeping on the monitor. She examined it and found it was recording Asami’s heart rate. She slumped to the floor, relieved, “What is happening?”

 

~~

 

Asami stayed in the tank for two days. When it finally opened, Opal was there, waiting and worried for her boss. “Uh, Ms. Sato…” She blushed looking anywhere but at her.

 

“What?” Asami frowned, “I’m fine! See?” She twirled around to prove her point and looked down, “Oh…oh! I’m so sorry!” She grabbed a towel that was hanging on the control panel. She quickly wrapped and tied the towel around her body. She looked up to face her secretary when she was done and fought against a teasing smirk, “Want some breakfast? I’m starving.”

 

Opal still looked away, the red creeping up to her ears, “Can you just put clothes on first?”

 

~~

 

“So, how long was I out?” Asami asked through a bite of her eggs.

 

“Two days.”

 

“Damn, I got really fucked up.”

 

Opal let out a dry laugh, “What, did you have one too many drinks?”

 

*Ahaha!* “No, superhuman terrorist.”

 

*Pfftt-cough cough*

 

Her secretary frowned, “What?!”

 

Asami sighed, “I guess I should start from the beginning.” She told Opal everything. From the moment she was born to the day she became an assassin. She told her about the bomber and the thirty-five before him. About their crimes and their punishments. She showed her the training room, the recovery floor, and her weapons and inventions. She explained that the liquid was a solution of medicine that used very tiny computers. They could target and heal any injury or enhance an area of the body; she called them nanobots. She told her theory of the nanobots enhancing Amon just like her.

 

“So…that’s it. My whole life story,” Asami said, spreading her arms to showcase her training room. She glanced at Opal who was currently staring at the a rack of weapons. “Opal? Earth to Opaaaal?”

 

“Uh,” Opal cleared her throat, “Remember two months ago when I told you you’re pretty much a big deal?” Asami nodded, “I take it back, you’re a fucking badass! I mean come on! Look at all this!” she picked up a kurasigama and began to swing it.

 

“Opal! Careful! That’s a very dangerous weapon!” She warned but it was too late, a deep red line began to form across her abdomen. The secretary slumped to the floor. _Damn it, Opal_. She picked her up and carried her to the third floor. Activating the tank, she placed the mask over her secretary and closed the chamber. She left to grab her a change of clothes and waited.

 

Three hours later, the tank began to drain the liquid and Opal stepped out, looking radiant. Asami turned her eyes away, holding out the clothes, “Here. I told you not to play with anything.”

 

“That…was amazing! I feel like I could take on a wild hogmonkey right now!” Opal touched her abdomen, flexing the muscles. It felt normal but stronger somehow, like the liquid had layered more muscle underneath the skin.

 

Asami rolled her eyes, “Slow down there, speed racer. Come on, you need to eat.”

 

~~

 

“Okay so,” Opal said, slurping her Top Ramen, “You hunt down these really bad criminals and kill them before they can break the law again?”

 

“Pretty much. Are you gonna turn me in?” Asami looked up, hoping that her secretary wouldn’t. Hoping that all the years she stayed with her, this wouldn’t be the time she finally left her. She hoped that she wouldn’t betray her, “Because if you do, I’d have to kill you.”

 

Opal laughed, “Psshh, are you kidding me?! I could be your sidekick! Wait, I can’t fight and I won’t kill people but I could still help you out!” her boss laughed, “You think I’m kidding but I’m not! I mess with computers on my free time. I saw that computer downstairs and your notes on the program you’re failing to write. I can help!”

 

“Failing?” Asami scoffed. But she couldn’t fight the hint of a smile forming on her lips. She knew it was good to trust Opal with her life, her secrets, and her company. She was the only person that Asami had let inside her walls through a secret door she always kept locked. It filled Asami with joy, simply because she had someone. Someone who would be there for her and now, more than ever, someone she could count on during a mission. Opal cared for her boss’s wellbeing as much as Asami cared for her secretary’s. It was a rare comfort that Asami vowed never to let go of.

 

“You may be good with tools, Asami but you’re shit with computers,” Opal crossed her arms over her chest.

 

“Hey!” Asami laughed, “I’m still your boss.”

 

The secretary put her hands up in surrender, “Yes ma’am.”

 

Asami eyed her secretary, “Fine, you can help.” Opal clasped her hands together, smiling. “But you are never going out there with me. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if you ever got hurt again, plus Bolin would kill me. How long until you can get that program running?”

 

Opal smirked, “I’ll get it done in an hour.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm not the best writer and I'm not claiming to be. But I have a lot of fun writing and forming a movie in my head and then transferring it into words. I'm slowly getting better or at least I hope I am. So your kudos and comments mean the world to me. Thank you! <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update guys! I've been super busy with work. This chapter is a little bit longer and I hope it's good. Comments, kudos, and reviews are welcome. Thank you for sticking by me and I swear, I'm not leaving this fiction, even though I have ideas for tons of other fictions haha! This chapter might be a lot of word vomit but hey, the words just kept coming right out of me.

“Opal! This is amazing! I could kiss you!” Asami exclaimed as she threw her arms around Opal’s neck.

 

“I don’t think Bolin would be happy about that,” Opal giggled. “But I wouldn’t mind,” she winked.

 

Asami rolled her eyes. She checked the program again, reveling in awe because Opal really had done it in an hour, maybe even less. And it worked. It actually worked and shit, Opal was a scary genius. “Okay, can you make the program search for something specific?”

 

Opal nodded and swiveled around in her chair to turn back to the computer, “Like what?” She began typing, bringing up windows filled with programming jargon that gave Asami a headache.

 

“Red Lotus,” Asami replied, rubbing her temples and turning away from the screen. Yeah, it really was just a bunch of numbers to her. Thank god for Opal, “Pictures, names, faces, anything. Go back as far as you can.” She knew it was a lot to ask for but if Opal could get a complicated program like this up and running within an hour, she could definitely search for two impossible words that may or may not exist. Asami had complete faith in Opal.

 

“Anything else, princess?”

 

Asami rolled her eyes.

 

“You know Asami, if you keep rolling your eyes like that, you might get an eyeball stuck in the back of your head,” Opal said, laughing as she caught Asami mid eye-roll. 

 

Asami just rolled her eyes again, “Did you start the search? Can it keep going without you here?” Opal nodded. “Then come on, get ready. We’re going to a party.”

 

“What party?” Opal asked.

 

“Didn’t you hear?” Asami said with a smirk, “They caught the bomber.”

 

It was Opal’s turn to roll her eyes, “This city is ridiculous. Three days later and they’re already throwing a party.”

 

Asami shrugged, “They’re safe. Of course they’d want to throw a party.”

 

*Hahaha!* “You just want to see Korra!”

 

Asami rolled her eyes, yet again. Maybe she really was going to lose an eyeball.

 

Opal laughed harder, “You better bring extra underwear then.” She ducked an incoming hand and effectively dodged the playful slap she was about to receive.

 

~~

 

Asami and Opal walked into the party looking extravagant as ever. All eyes turned towards them as they descended the stairs. Asami felt the excitement suffocate the room and whispers of ‘That’s Asami Sato!’ or ‘The Future Industries’s CEO!’ or ‘Who’s that next to her? She’s hot!’ filled the large ballroom.

 

They made their way to the bar and eyed the room: Asami searching for Korra and Opal searching for Bolin.

 

“I don’t think they’re here yet, Ms. Sato,” Opal said, throwing her hands up in defeat. She gave up on her search and turned back towards the bar to sip her drink.

 

Asami was about to agree when a flash of dark skin caught her breath. She heard Opal’s excited gasp next to her and glanced to see the secretary clutching her chest. She grinned, Opal was clearly attracted to Bolin but Asami couldn’t see what the big deal was. Opal smacked her boss’s arm without taking her eyes off of Bolin.

 

“What was that for?” Asami cried in mock hurt.

 

“I could feel you making fun of me.”

 

The police force entered the room with Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Lin leading the pack. Korra had her lopsided grin on her face. 

 

_She’s stunning_.

 

Korra wore a blue dress again. _Must be her favorite color?_ It caressed one shoulder, hugged her body in all the right places and flowed behind her. It reminded Asami of the autumn wind, dancing through trees. She imagined laying still on tall grass, gazing up at white fluffy clouds dancing across a bright blue sky and feeling the wind through her hair. It was relaxing, beautiful even and Asami didn’t mind staying in the dream-like grass for a little while longer, feeling safe and at peace.

 

Her eyes followed Korra’s movements, from her confident strides to the flex of her arms when she shook hands with others. She saw the muscles in her legs twitch through the slit in her dress as she climbed the small steps leading up to the stage. The police force followed Korra closely onto the stage as if she was a mother duck and was leading her children to safety across the pond. When they had settled in their seats, the President of Republic City appeared with an assistant holding a beautifully carved wooden box.

 

“Republic City would like to thank Detectives Korra and Mako, Chief Lin Beifong, and the Republic City Police Department for apprehending the terrorist, Amon!” The President motioned for his assistant to join him. He opened the box and a glint of metal flickered with the stage lights. Inside were medals, engraved with the city outline and the date. The President personally gifted the shining circles around the necks of the two detectives and the chief, thanking them each and every chance he could afford.

 

As soon as he finished, the room exploded with cheers. Everyone chanting Korra, Mako and Lin’s names. It was intoxicating: the chant, the wave of relief, and the pride that the room had for their protectors. Asami found herself whispering along with the chant, her own wave of relief washing over her. If it weren’t for the presence of the police force three nights ago, during her battle with Amon, there would have been significantly more casualties. Well, technically there hadn’t been any and that was all thanks to the police. Her city was safe.

 

Once the ceremony was over and Korra was no longer surrounded by grateful citizens and politicians, Asami sauntered over to her to claim a reward of her own.

 

~~

 

“And then Bolin got on his knees and practically begged Opal to be his girlfriend,” Korra said, laughing at the memory. Asami smiled warmly as she pictured how Opal would react. Talking with Korra felt as wondrous and natural as the setting or rising of the sun. The two had found themselves in a quiet corner, placing them at the edge of the festivities.

  
“I’m sure Opal gave him a hard time,” Asami chuckled. “She probably had him kneeling for the next thirty minutes.”

 

Korra laughed and it was beautiful, melodic. Asami vowed to continue making jokes just so she could hear that music again. “She did! He was down there for so long, I thought he might’ve started to kiss her feet!”

 

Asami put a hand to her lips to stifle another laugh, “So, you and Mako make a pretty good team,” she said, changing the subject. It was effortless, like the flow of a river. “Congratulations on nabbing Amon.” 

 

Korra’s mouth curved into her goofy grin, “Thanks.” But the grin faded into a slight frown, “Actually, uh about that. I have a confession to make.”

 

Asami straightened, her interest piqued, “We didn’t exactly catch him. More like we just wrapped him up. Eye witnesses were saying that someone was fighting him. I mean, I saw some of the fight. Okay, well actually, I saw basically nothing when it started but the person fighting him had warned me to get away and before I knew it, the person was losing and Amon was gonna kill them. I don’t know what came over me.” Korra glanced down at her hands. They were shaking a little. So she balled them into fists in a lame attempt to stop them. “It’s just that…I mean…ugh! Fuck me.”

 

Asami’s eyebrows shot up. _So that’s what she says when she’s nervous…damn._ She’s a little disappointed now, knowing that Korra wasn’t trying to drop hints the first time they met.

 

If Korra picked up on Asami’s current face of disappointment, she didn’t let it show. Instead she continued, “I shot him. I was so scared because…shit, I’ve never seen anyone move that fast and the person fighting Amon seemed like one of the good guys. So I took the shot.” Korra sighed, exhausted from the flood of emotions that consumed her. “But then the mysterious fighter ran away, making my eyes burn with a smoke a bomb.”

 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Asami immediately shot her hands up to hold the detective’s face. Eyes scanning for any traces of harm that Asami could have caused her. Because it **was** her fault and if Korra ever got hurt because of her, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself. 

 

“Why are you apologizing? It’s not like it was your fault,” Korra said, releasing herself from Asami’s grip to hide the heat that was starting to creep up her cheeks. She definitely wasn’t noticing how close they were or the fact that Asami’s hands were calloused but still smooth against her cheeks. Or the fact that the touch and connection Asami created was sending tantalizing shocks throughout her body. No, she definitely wasn’t thinking about that.

 

Asami dropped her hands, her own face turning a deep shade of red because she definitely wasn’t just thinking about the same thing and she remembered that Korra didn’t know she was there or that she was the mysterious fighter. “I uh…sorry,” she grinned sheepishly. The pair had only talked twice so when Korra had opened up about Amon, her unexpected vulnerability left Asami with the desire to take Korra into her arms.

 

Suddenly, the room felt like it was slowly gripping Asami’s throat in the same way Amon had his hands gripped around her neck. She needed some fresh air, some room to breathe. “Follow me,” she whispered, taking Korra’s hand before the poor woman could even respond.

 

Asami found a balcony that was unoccupied except for the sounds of the night singing like a hymn. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, relishing in the smell of wet grass. It was peaceful, quiet, and in that moment, it was just Korra and Asami. Not Detective Korra, not CEO Asami, not assassin Asami. Just them. It was guileless, like they should be doing this and the unspoken rivalry (resulting from their careers) between them didn’t exist. That Asami wasn’t the Invisible Hunter and Korra wasn’t the detective trying to land her in jail. Asami felt more cracks form along her defenses and it scared her because she knew she couldn’t stop it, no matter how hard she tried.

 

They stood there, watching the stars dance across the sky in a comfortable silence. Asami noticed how their hands were still connected and she was sure her heart was beating so loudly that Korra could probably hear it. Hell, she could probably feel Asami’s pulse through her sweating fingers that were laced nervously around Korra’s. 

 

After a few minutes, Korra finally let go and Asami had to resist the urge to reach for her hand again. “I joined the force because I wanted to help people,” she said. “Put the right people away. When I first got out of the academy, I was stubborn and instead of saving lives, I put them at risk. People started telling me I should quit, saying I should have been anything else but a police officer.” She sighed, exasperated at the memory.

 

Asami stayed silent, letting Korra remember it because she felt like this was something she couldn’t possibly interrupt. She continued, “But that’s not what I wanted to be. I wanted to fight for people who couldn’t fight for themselves. Sure, a lawyer or social worker could do that but I wanted to be in the front. I wanted to be the first. I wanted the people who needed saving to know that someone was there, helping them, supporting them, maybe even just being there for them.”

 

Korra’s heart was racing, she had never opened up to someone like this, especially not this fast. But Asami had kept quiet which allowed her to let everything run freely. It was just the two of them: one talking and one listening intently, hanging on every word that was said. It was refreshing and it was something that Korra never really had. She had been so caught up in her career and was forced to be carried by a swift current away from any love life. But her people, the citizens, they were the people Korra loved and she loved them wholeheartedly. And Asami was here, one of her citizens, and Korra felt, for once in her life, vulnerable but in a good way. It was good because she had been holding everything in for so long. Her passions, her motivations, her inner feelings that she pushed down because her job required her to put the people first, not herself. She didn’t want to lose this: this one moment where she could drop the detective title and simply be Korra. 

 

She continued, pushing everything out before the moment was lost, “I told myself to slow down. To think about what I was doing. After that, I made head detective. When I did, I wanted to give unsolved cases their closure. I wanted to give their families closure. And sure, Mako and I are the best detectives in Republic City but it wasn’t about the fame. It was about helping people, saving them.”

 

Asami studied Korra, surprised that Korra let herself be vulnerable. It wasn’t something that she was used to. She knew what it was like to have walls built around her heart, creating a protective room. She knew how hard it could be to push down those walls, if only for a moment, and let someone take a look inside. It was scary but it also wasn’t unwarranted.

 

The only person to ever open up to Asami was Opal but Opal was her secretary, her best friend, and her most trusted ally. And that took years to achieve. But Korra, she…she put down her walls only after meeting Asami twice. Maybe she was just trustworthy—no, you can’t trust people this quickly, especially when you’re a detective. A detective learned to question everything until evidence was found. A detective trusted evidence, not abstract moments. But here Korra was, opening her heart to the one person she probably shouldn’t even be talking to. And all Asami wanted to do was pull the woman into a warm, protective embrace.

 

Korra sighed, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to dump all this on you. I just feel safe around you, you know?” Asami didn’t know. “Like I could tell you everything and you wouldn’t judge me because,” she shrugged, “I feel like I can be myself around you, not a detective, just me.”

 

Korra was facing out, towards the garden and looking up towards the sky. The stars reflected off of her eyes, making the blues shine brighter than ever. Her toned arms relaxed on the railing but her hands clasped together into one tight fist gave away her nervousness, her fears. Asami’s heart raced and jumped into her throat. She tried to swallow the lump that was forming there.

 

_Stop_ , she told herself. _This isn’t someone you can fall in love with, this isn’t someone you should let in._ _She’s just an extremely attractive woman who could warm my bed tonight_. But she found herself tracing Korra’s features with her eyes, burning it into her memory because she wasn’t sure when a moment of vulnerability (for her or Korra) would ever happen again.

 

_Fuck it_.

 

Asami leaned forward and gently pulled Korra’s chin to face her. She gazed into the strikingly beautiful blue eyes, searching for a hint of rejection but thankfully, found none. She committed to what she was about to do and before Korra could say anything, Asami met her lips with hers.

 

The kiss was sloppy and awkward at first because Korra’s body was still angled out and her neck strained to face Asami fully. But then Korra finally turned towards her, allowing the kiss to fully form. Asami moved her hand to Korra’s face, tracing the strong jawline that moved with the kiss. She felt Korra’s hand move up to grip her wrist and felt a calloused thumb skate across her sensitive skin. Asami removed her hand from Korra’s cheek to the back of her neck, feeling the soft hair at the nape. She pulled Korra towards her, deepening the kiss. 

 

Asami’s senses were heightened. She felt her blood pulsing through her veins and an electric feeling every time that thumb skated over her hand. She cursed the gods for making oxygen a necessary thing to live because when they broke apart, blue eyes meeting green ones, they were breathing heavily. Chests rising and falling like ocean waves beating against the shore. 

 

Everything felt sharp and in focus. Asami gasped as her eyes wandered to the area behind Korra. The area was dark before, hiding the garden but now, she saw all of its green beauty. As if someone had placed a microscope in her eyes, she could see the beads of water resting on a leaf. But that wasn’t what made her gasp. It was the fact that the leaf was at least a hundred yards away, too far away for the naked eye to even notice the plant itself especially since it was dark. But she saw the plant, she saw the water beads, and she saw it perfectly. Her senses had never been this sharp before and she had never been able to see anything this far away.

 

She looked back at Korra and saw that her newly improved vision was taking in too much of her. She saw the minuscule pores that dotted Korra’s face, the minute trembling of her lips, and best of all, Asami could **see** her heart beating, loudly against her ribcage. She saw the skin just below Korra’s jaw thumping and moving in time with her heartbeat and it was fast. 

 

_What is happening?_

 

But Asami didn’t dwell on the newfound vision for long, she didn’t want to. Korra was right in front of her and she had returned the kiss. **She kissed her back**. She didn’t think about the way Korra opened up to her just a few minutes before or the fact that she could feel the protective walls around her heart wavering in their stability and she didn’t think about the improved vision. All she thought about was the incessant need for someone’s head between her legs right now. 

 

Asami gently pulled her closer, wanting to take this further, wanting to put out the fire that had erupted between her thighs. Korra let out a delicious moan causing Asami to part her lips slightly, running her tongue along Korra’s bottom lip. Korra shuddered as she darted her own tongue inside, exploring the newfound territory. Asami let out her own lusty moan as Korra took her bottom lip into her mouth and gently bit down. When they broke apart again, Korra’s eyes were mischievous and a smirk played across her face.

 

“Wha—?” Before Asami could finish, she was whirled around and was forced to switch spots with Korra. Her back was against the balcony railing with Korra’s back facing the party. A smirk of her own graced Asami’s features as she enjoyed this dominant side of Korra. She looked back at blue eyes again and this time the mischievous look was replaced with fire. A burning desire that shook Asami down to her core.

 

Korra wrapped strong arms around her thighs and lifted. Asami let out an **extremely embarrassing** yelp as she was placed onto the railing of the balcony. Korra chuckled as she placed her hands onto Asami’s thighs, anchoring her in place. “If I fall Korra…” Asami started and Korra pressed her thighs together after hearing the way her name rolled off of Asami’s tongue.

 

“I won’t let you go,” Korra whispered. Asami didn’t think about the double meaning those words held because strong, confident palms gripped her thighs and they were really close to where she actually wanted them to be. She leaned down to kiss Korra and it felt awkward again because she was taller than Korra. Then the shorter woman stood on her toes, closing the distance between them. She felt Korra’s smirk against her lips.

 

“You really know how to impress a girl,” Asami said, as they paused to breathe. “Do you do this often?” She gestured to the whole balcony, signaling the whole conversation they had before and the beautiful landscape behind her.

 

“Only for the pretty girls,” Korra replied with a toothy grin.

 

Her hands moved up Asami’s thigh, taking her red dress with it. Asami felt the hand against her thigh and it sent hungry shivers down her spine. She involuntarily arched her back towards Korra which moved the nervous hands only slightly up her thigh. Tilting her head back, she gave Korra access to the cleavage her dress allowed. Soft lips and a warm tongue captured the exposed skin. _More, it’s not enough_.

 

Asami gathered brunette hair into her hands, lightly formed a fist, and tugged softly causing the woman to let out a groan against her chest. Korra’s lips and tongue continued to taste the skin on her chest but it wasn’t enough to leave a mark. The hand on Asami’s thigh seemed to suddenly gain confidence. It inched higher, faster and she could feel Korra’s fingers tracing the lace on her hips.

 

“Ms. Sato! There you are…oh my god! I’m so sorry!” Opal hurriedly left the balcony, slamming the door shut and without knowing it, shutting down the moment too. It left the women’s heads spinning and the area between their thighs raging with unsatisfied desire. The heat spreading throughout their bodies was so strong, it could probably set the garden behind them on fire. 

 

_Damn it, Opal!_

 

Asami cursed as she detangled herself from Korra, “I’m sorry,” The secretary never actively sought her out so it must’ve been important. “I better go see what she needs.”

 

Korra simply nodded, hiding the disappointed look on her face. But she failed epically at calming her nerves and her rapidly beating heart. “I’ll uh…see you around?” she said, grinning sheepishly. Her hand moved to scratch the back of her head while the other rested on her hip. 

 

That pose, that damn pose and that damn goofy grin struck a cord in Asami’s heart. Her mind filled to the brim with thoughts of lust and feelings. Ugh, god, **feelings**. And Asami was wholeheartedly confused. She didn’t know what her body was doing when her mind told her one thing but her heart yelled out another. She struggled to find some kind of middle ground but found her heart taking control. She knew that letting this person into her defenses would break her. Knowing that the walls she spent her whole life building would come crashing down, completely destroying the room and the destruction would probably take her heart with it.

 

It terrified her. She didn’t know what to do. She thought about the kiss. Warm, soft lips pressed against hers and strong hands gripping her thighs. But she also thought about her targets. The cold steel slithering down her arm and the warm blood dripping from a target’s neck. She remembered why her walls were built so damn high and why she protected herself: the betrayal of her father, the pain her targets would inflict on the victims, and then the victims themselves. She remembered one particular victim, a child, with large and watery eyes who thanked Asami with all that he could. Thanked her for saving his life, ridding him of the evil that had tortured him for far too long. This was why she kept her walls up, any distraction of any kind would hinder her ability to help people, to save them. 

 

Asami gulped, surprised at her own response, “Next time, it’ll be a date.” What was her body doing?! She felt her eye wink and felt her face turn red at the gesture. Embarrassed, she turned to leave their little sanctuary. The CEO, the assassin, and the Invisible Hunter all came back in the form of a mask that Asami placed onto her face and she was sure Korra was doing the same with her detective title. 

 

A war was brewing within the room that protected Asami’s heart. On one wall, there were multiple fissures and the wall itself seemed to groan in protest as if it was tired from standing. On the other side was a strong, intact wall which stayed immobile, gloating that it was still standing. Every single instinct she had told her to stay away. Stay away from this intoxicating woman and her adorable antics. Stay away from your greatest enemy: the detective, who was pounding on the other side of the cracked wall, yelling out her name in desperation. With each pound and each call for her name, the fissures deepened and created more cracks in her defenses.

 

Then there was the heightened vision which seemed to have gone back to normal now but Asami had never felt anything like it before. She’d never felt anything like **this** before. She knew she was never able to lead a normal life; she was an assassin, after all. But despite knowing that, she still kissed Korra. She still pulled her hair, she still heard the desperate whimpers escaping Korra’s lips, and she still felt that hand that had traced her hip. She remembered Opal’s teasing months before and her own worry for Korra’s safety. She remembered the moment she laid her green eyes onto the alluring blue ones and how they had trapped her from the start. She remembered that she lusted for Korra, maybe she still did but something was different. Better different? Maybe. Asami sighed, _I’m so screwed_.

 

~~

 

Asami found her secretary tucked away into a corner of the ballroom. She ignored the ongoing party and marched right up to Opal, a flash of anger ran across her features. But it left as quickly as it came because poor Opal looked so apologetic and she couldn’t stay mad at her for long. But still…Asami growled internally, she needed to get out of there before she was tempted to just whirl back around and pin Korra down. “What is it Opal?”

 

The secretary’s eyes watered and her bottom lip trembled, knowing that she had fucked up, “I’m so so sorry, Ms. Sato! I didn’t know! I-I’m so sorry!”

 

Asami groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. She took Opal’s wrist and led her out of the party so she could get away from the feeling of wanting to turn back around, “Just tell me.” Once they were outside, Asami handed her ticket to the valet and patiently waited for the car to come around. Opal still hadn’t said anything, only sniffled here and there.

 

The black Satomobile came into view and Asami started to head over. But Opal grabbed her arm and stopped her, “Are you sure you don’t want to…” she said, jerking her thumb behind her, back towards the party; back to Korra.

 

Asami’s body stiffened, “Opal,” she growled. Her secretary’s eyes widened because she knew now that she absolutely, positively fucked up. Asami continued before she could crumble with sympathy, “If you were going to let me go back out there, why’d you interrupt in the first place?!” Opal winced at her boss’s anger. “Come on, tell me in the car.” She turned to leave again but Opal’s watery eyes prevented her from moving. She sighed heavily, “Sorry, I’m sorry. Just frustrated, confused. I don’t know.”

 

Opal smirked, the sadness in her eyes were gone and was replaced with the friendliness she shared with Asami, “Sexually frustrated,” she teased.

 

“Opal…” Asami started. The teasing was starting to get ridiculous. Opal had something she needed to tell her yet here she was, finding the ability to make fun of Asami despite her impending doom.

 

Opal put her arms in the air with defeat, “I know, I know. You’re still my boss, blah blah blah.”

 

Asami chuckled, her anger and annoyance leaving her body, “Come on, asshole. Let’s go.”

 

Once they were in the safety and privacy of Asami’s car, Opal turned to her boss. She showed her the screen of her phone but it was filled with the same programming jargon from the computer in her loft. Asami shook her head, “I don’t understand what you’re showing me.”

 

“You know, good thing you recruited me because that program you were trying to write was utter crap,” Opal teased. “Red Lotus, Asami. I found them.”

 

_Damn, that was fast. Opal’s a scary fucking genius._

 

~~

 

When Korra left the party with her friends and coworkers, she could still feel the touch of Asami’s lips to hers. ‘Next time, it’ll be a date’ and the wink that followed still haunted Korra for the next two weeks, causing her heart to race faster, if that was even possible. But she hadn’t heard from the CEO during the past two weeks and she wondered why. Then again, being a CEO demanded much of her time, all of her time. _Probably_.

 

“Morning Detective,” Mako greeted Korra as she walked into the room. It housed all of the detectives’s desks and the Chief’s office at the very back of the room. The Chief liked to keep all of her detectives near her, available at a moment’s notice. But seeing bright and happy faces so early in the morning annoyed Korra to no end.

 

“Mmmm…” Korra grumbled in response. She really hated mornings. She poured herself a cup of coffee and stumbled to her desk. Taking a sip, she let the warm liquid travel down her throat, allowing its wonderful caffeine-filled magic into her system.

 

“Hey grouchy pants, grab another cup and take a look at this,” Mako said, placing a thin file on her desk.

 

Before Korra even bothered to look at it, she dutifully filled two more cups and placed them onto her desk next to her first one. The three cups were starting to create a tiny city of coffee mugs and she vowed she’d drink all three, “Watcha got?” She asked, opening the file.

 

“The Red Lotus,” Mako explained, “We had our techs looking for any mention of them. It took a lot of man hours but we found something. Not a lot but at least it’s something.”

 

Korra finished her third cup of coffee, ignoring the raised eyebrows of Mako, and slapped her hands to her face, wiping off the grogginess. She looked back down to study the file with clarity now that she was finally awake. It was thin and only had two pages.

 

The Red Lotus was some kind of terrorist group using science as a means of destruction. They started out as a company but investors began to drop them one by one after discovering their unconventional methods twenty-four years ago. The company became bankrupt and fell apart. But apparently, they were somehow able to find funding because here they were, using a distorted superhuman to bomb Republic City. If you count the time that the Red Lotus operated while they were a company, they’ve been around for roughly a century. Korra wondered if their power or rather malice existed back then and if it did, why would did it take this long for investors to drop them?

 

“Did we find them?” Korra asked but Mako shook his head.

 

“There is one name that keeps popping up though,” He said, “Doctor Sozin.” He flipped the only two pages in the report until he found Sozin’s report. There wasn’t much on him except that he had a doctorate in Neuroscience from Ba Sing Se University.

 

She huffed in frustration. The file proved nothing, they couldn’t even find them. Red Lotus, as a company, no longer existed but instead existed as a terrorist cult. How they managed to stay hidden for so many years was a question that gnawed at Korra’s empty stomach. If she had eaten, she was sure that she might have just let her food spill out onto her desk. But that wasn’t the major question that bothered her. It was the questions of: ‘Why are they showing themselves now? Do they have some type of plan where they knew it would work and they were comfortable enough to let themselves be revealed?’ Maybe it was just paranoia settling back into Korra’s mind or maybe it was the detective in her starting to work. 

 

“There was also blood…we don’t know whose but we’re running tests,” Mako began but Korra already knew whose blood it was. “Maybe it’s from that mysterious fighter we saw before we evacuated. You stayed behind, right Korra? You saw someone there, right?”

 

“Mako I…” She started to say but hesitates and she doesn’t know why. “I don’t know what I saw.”

 

“But—“

 

“No buts,” Korra interrupted. She waved off the disappointed look Mako gave her, “Run the tests. DNA checks, whatever it takes, it could even be Amon’s. We don’t know anything yet until we get results.” He nodded and left, deciding that she had nothing else to say.

 

As soon as he was out of earshot, Korra mumbled to herself, “Find out, so I can thank them.” 

 

She sighed. What was she thinking?

 

Maybe because telling Mako that someone was there meant that they’d have to arrest the person. But that person had saved her, Republic City and everything in between. That person is a hero, at least in Korra’s eyes. She sighed, rubbed her face in a lame attempt to push another wave of exhaustion from her body. She didn’t want to think of the fierce green eyes that ordered her to leave. Those green eyes were hard and lacked any emotion except for how intensely they bore into Korra’s soul or how they flared with rage at Amon.

 

She swallowed, flushing the green eyes away and replacing them with the soft and caring eyes of Asami. Those eyes were able to reach for Korra’s heart and embrace it like best friends who had been apart for far too long. _They’re not the same: the intense ones and the gentle ones. They belong to two separate people_.

 

Korra thought of the reason why she fired her gun but found none. Sure, the shot she made hit him perfectly and sure, she was an excellent shot. But the way Amon was moving moments before she pulled the trigger was…impossible. She barely saw the fight that had unraveled that night. But she saw what she could. She remembered the rough voice of the person in a full body suit that had warned her to get away. She remembered the distorted face that hid beneath Amon’s mask. She saw him break his opponent’s leg. The crack was like thunder. It was loud and it traveled right to Korra’s bones. Her blood boiled with rage and fear. Every paranoid thought slammed into her mind, backing her into a corner. They trapped her because she knew the only way to defeat Amon was by this person in the black suit.

 

But that person had broken a leg and then broken ribs moments later and with every drop of blood that left their body, every bit of hope drained from Korra. It slowly emptied her reserves into a pit of despair. Her city would perish, the civilians she swore to protect would die and she had failed them.

 

Or at least she would have if she didn’t find her voice to yell at Amon to get his attention, or if she didn’t take a deep breath to steady her hand, or if she didn’t squeeze the trigger; firing every last ounce of hope that she had.

 

She didn’t fail them. She did all these things to save her city and its citizens. She **had** to do it to save everyone and it was all thanks to the mysterious fighter for distracting Amon enough. She sighed and rubbed her temples, _I want to thank them_.

 

~~

 

Asami walked into the police station wearing her usual confidence and swagger. She was able to tell that the room had stopped what they were doing just to stare at her. She smirked knowing this and although all eyes were trained her, they weren’t the blue she was looking for. “Hi,” Asami said, plastering her most pleasing smile as she greeted the officer at the front desk.

 

“H—oh hi!” the woman looked up to only glance at her but ended up fumbling her words as she did a double take. Clearly, she was surprised by the presence of the CEO. She eyed the object in Asami’s hand, wondering who they could be for.

 

“I’m looking for Detective Korra,” Asami replied, her fingers tapping her thigh out of sight of the officer to hide her impatience.

 

Oh that’s who they’re for. The police officer smirked, “Up the stairs, left hallway, she’s in that room.”

 

Asami ignored the woman’s giggles and set on her way. She reached the door leading to her target. Steadying her breath, she shook her hands to prevent any signs of nervousness. 

 

_Jesus, Sato, get your shit together._

 

Taking one last deep breath, she drew out a smile. A real smile from the happiness she felt over the past three months. From the toothy grin that made her heart soar for the first time in her life. From the blue eyes that bore into her defenses, creating those terrifying cracks. The happiness she felt from simply being around her. The warmth she hadn’t felt her whole life. And shit, all these fuzzy and warm feelings ( _gross)_ made her afraid. But something…something just felt right.

 

She opened the door with the same heartwarming smile tattooed on her face. The room instantly silenced. All eyes turned to the intruder and Asami swore she heard crickets chirping. She placed both hands behind her back to hide the object in her hands. She stood tall and entered the room. Proud, and confident she waltzed right up to the one desk she had noticed right away. The room broke its silence and went back to work. Chatter of police reports and phone calls engulfed the room again, as if nothing happened.

 

“Hey,” Asami said. The detective she was looking for had kept her head down during her entrance. Korra was lost in thought, flipping through a file that looked like it only had two pages. She was sure that Korra had already memorized the words on the pages. She caught a flash of the word ‘lotus’ on one of the pages but thought nothing of it. When the detective didn’t answer, Asami poked lightly at her cheeks.

 

“Mako, I swear, I thought I told you…” Korra finally looked up and met soft, gentle green eyes. “You,” she breathed as if that was the only syllable she was able to say because her breath was truly taken away by Asami’s presence.

 

“Me,” Asami smiled. It was a warm smile that she realized she could only make for Korra. She brought out the flowers that were hidden behind her back. Seeing the blush creep up Korra’s cheeks, she smirked, “I’ve come to kidnap you. Sorry I’m two weeks late.”

 

“But, I’m working and there’s still so much to do. And I’m in my uniform. And what about Chief Beifong? What about Mako?” Korra rambled.

 

Before Korra could spiral out of control, the chief’s door opened, “Korra!” Lin called, “Take the day off, you deserve it.” The chief whirled back around into her office, closing the door. Asami may or may not have timed that. Okay, she didn’t but she did call ahead to make Lin Beifong give the detective the day off. 

 

Korra’s jaw dropped at the chief’s orders and her gaze was glued to where the chief had stood moments ago.

 

“I took care of it,” Asami said, laughing at the detective’s shock. “I wasn’t kidding when I said ‘next time, it’ll be a date.’” She whispered the last few words in Korra’s ear. She grinned when goosebumps formed on Korra’s arms and a slightly violent shudder passed through her. Before she could respond, Asami whisked her away and out of the building. Asami winked at the gaping officer she first talked to as they exited the building. 

 

“Whoa,” Korra said, finally finding her voice again once they were outside.

 

The Satomobile Asami drove today was one of her more luxurious models. She will never admit to anyone that she tweaked it to impress korra. Also, she will never admit to the huge grin that formed on her face when she saw Korra’s reaction.

 

Asami opened the passenger door to allow Korra inside.

 

“And I thought chivalry was dead,” Korra teased.

 

Asami winked and said, “Remember, I brought you flowers too.”

 

The vehicle was a smooth black with tan leather seats. The interior housed many buttons with thousands of functions. It was equipped to deal with an attack but Asami withheld that fact. “Don’t touch anything,” Asami warned, “Please.” She shut Korra’s door and moved to the other side of the car to climb into the driver side. As Asami settled herself in, she noticed Korra staring at her, “Everything okay?”

 

“I just thought, you being a CEO and all…” Korra said but trailed off when she realized her next words might sound shallow. 

 

Asami grinned, “You thought I might have my own driver?”

 

Korra nodded.

 

*pft-ahhaha!*

 

Asami waved off Korra’s embarrassment, “I like to do things alone,” she said, shrugging. “You’ll see.”

 

~~

 

“Is there anything you can’t do?!” Korra exclaimed, looking below her. An aerial view of Republic City filled the windows of the helicopter they were in. Asami was piloting, expertly weaving them through the air and Korra looked like a kid locked in a toy store.

 

Every now and then Korra would let out an embarrassing squeal as she repeatedly smacked Asami’s arm, saying, “That’s my gym!” or “That’s where I made my first arrest! Or was it there? Ah hell, this is amazing!”

 

Asami smiled the whole day and all throughout their dinner. Every hour, every minute she spent with Korra, she unearthed more pieces of Korra and herself.

 

Korra’s favorite color, surprisingly, is green. She has a dog named Naga and Asami hoped to meet her one day. She loves to work out, _obviously_. She’s from the Southern Water Tribe where her parents were currently living. She loves to spar with Mako and one hundred percent of the time, she would win. Which left Asami with an itching feeling to spar with her, wondering about the outcome. She loves to eat and she hates mornings. Asami grinned at that because frankly, she agreed: **mornings are evil**.

 

Asami began to reveal her own pieces to Korra and was surprised that with each piece, the trembling wall within her heart was inching lower and lower. She told Korra about her father and how he had betrayed her, leaving Future Industries in very inexperienced eighteen year old hands. She told her when her mother passed away and how that drove a wedge between her and basically anyone else. Her passion for fixing anything and everything. Her dedication to her company and its employees. Her devotion for helping people and how everything went wrong for her yet somehow, she always found a way to make things right. 

 

The walls had fallen even further and was now level with her waist. It was frightening, nerve-wracking but something felt like everything was okay. That everything was just right. But on the other side of the room that protected Asami’s heart, a wall was still standing, strong and proud. Maybe that’s part of the reason things felt right? But she knew that wasn’t the case. This feeling wasn’t the skepticism and caution she usually received from the strong wall. No, this feeling wasn’t even coming from the wall. She searched for the source but a part of her already knew where it was coming from: her heart. The organ she spent a lifetime fortifying was finally doing something other than pumping blood. It was **feeling**. Her heart was telling her, _“You_ ** _can_** _love her, you know,”_ as if it was the most obvious thing to say. Like it was sensible; like she should have allowed herself to love long ago. And with that realization…she let go.

 

Asami began to notice the little things about Korra and not just that goofy grin or her trademark nervous pose. It was the way Korra’s eyes softened whenever she looked at her or was describing a fond memory. The way she pouted her lips when she was thinking or upset about something. The brazen way she said things sometimes, like her mouth was pushing words out before her mind could catch up. Sometimes she’d shuffle her feet when she was uncomfortable or nervous. The strong look in her eyes when she’d talk about her career in the police force. The way she could also look so calm, at peace, and happy after recounting the gratefulness from the citizens she had saved. 

 

She found herself being drawn to every small action Korra made. She was starting to like it. Okay, fine, she was starting to love it. All of Korra, actually. And as the hours of the night tickled to an end, Asami was surprised when she thought, _I don’t want this to end_. Spending time with Korra was the embodiment of Asami’s newfound affection.

 

When she dropped Korra off at her apartment, Korra planted a light kiss on her soft lips. Asami struggled to fight the rapidly beating heart behind her ribs, “Will I see you again? And not two weeks later.”

 

Asami laughed, “Maybe.”

 

Korra’s mouth began to turn down, showing obvious disappointment. But the frown wasn’t able to fully form. A smirk tugged at Asami’s lips as she handed Korra one of her business cards.

 

“Asami,” Korra said. Her name sounded a million times more beautiful coming from Korra’s mouth. “If you’re trying to get me to invest in your company, it’s not gonna happen. I’m broke as hell.”

 

Asami wordlessly flipped the card over to reveal her own neat handwriting and her personal cell phone number. She smirked as Korra mumbled something along the lines of ‘stupid.’

 

“Good night, Korra.”

 

Korra nodded and a toothy grin graced her face as she exited the car and made the trip to her apartment. Before Asami could even shift her car into gear, her phone went off.

 

**Unknown Number (12:01 AM): Good night, Asami.**

 

For the first time in Asami’s life, her heart raced with tenderness and warmth, not with adrenaline from a kill. So she smiled without a worry in the world.

 

But she didn’t know that would last about 2.0 seconds because Asami Sato is never allowed to feel at peace until her last dying breath.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! I am so sorry about the late update! The updates are gonna be coming a little later because I'm in summer school right now and it's kicking my butt.
> 
> Any grammar mistakes are my own, sorry! :(
> 
> Quick note: there are a few flashbacks in here and when I previously said that italics are thoughts. During the flashbacks though, italics are the flashback and the non italic text will be thoughts
> 
> During my free time, I read the beginning of this adventure and totally cringed because I didn't have a plan for my fiction. But I sat down and literally wrote down everything I have planned and I planned for the next chapters. So those of you who have stayed, I love you, seriously. I also updated the tags and any suspicions you may get from this chapter, remember tags!
> 
> This also has like no Korra and Asami interaction whatsoever, I'm sorry!
> 
> Anyway, because of my late update, here's a really long chapter for you lovely people. Let me know if you like the long chapters or if I should just stop writing altogether haha, just kidding but really though, let me know what you guys think!

**Two weeks ago**

 

“You’re not messing with me, are you Opal?”

 

The secretary furiously shook her head, “I would never joke about something this serious. Look, this is where they are er—well it’s one of their facilities. Figured we could start there.”

 

After the party, Asami and Opal hurried back to the loft. They were huddled at the large monitor in the training room which displayed a series of photos on its screen. The photos were of warehouses, labs, and buildings and each structure had a symbol: the Red Lotus symbol. The symbol looked like a flaming red sun and each of its tendrils seemed to ensnare you. They would snake out across whatever surface it was on, like vines fastening itself onto the building, marking it with its hatred.

 

Asami never knew a symbol could have that kind of effect on her. It was just a symbol…but it was **everywhere** , on every building Opal discovered. Sometimes the color of the building hid it or it was so small you couldn’t see it. But once you knew what you were looking for, you’d see it. No matter what.

 

It was like they designed it that way. Like they had somehow hacked into your brain to make you paranoid, burying its imprint into the dark recesses of your mind. Finding the symbol in every picture of a building they saw felt a lot like they were being stalked. As if it was telling them that Red Lotus was ready to capture you within seconds.

 

Asami and Opal shivered, “I have no idea how they’re doing that,” Opal said. “The symbol itself isn’t even that big on this building. I mean, come on,” she closed the window that was currently on display: a close up of the symbol.

 

Blinking rapidly, Asami tried to will away the haunting thing. The screen now showed a picture of an old, withered warehouse. The symbol was well-hidden. It was small, close to microscopic and even though this picture’s symbol wasn’t red but brown to match the color of the building, Asami could see the symbol in red, blown up with pure clarity. She was sure Opal was seeing it the same way too. Both women rubbed their eyes in desperation, attempting to push the image away again.

 

“Ugh, turn it off,” Asami groaned. The screen flickered then abruptly shut off. Asami sighed with relief but the image still burned in her mind. 

 

After they spent agonizingly long minutes waiting for the afterimages to disappear, Opal spoke up, “So, game plan, Ms. Sato.” She had to resist the urge to turn the computer back on because all her plans were there. “I think we should start at that warehouse. It’s better than nothing.”

 

Nodding, Asami turned to the wall where her suits rested. Within seconds, she was changed and ready to go. Her face’s features morphed into the seriousness that came with her Invisible Hunter persona.

 

“Wait,” Opal called out to her, “here.” She handed Asami a slim black glove. It looked plain, just like the ones she was wearing already.

 

“What is this?” Asami asked but she dutifully removed her left glove, replacing it with the new one. She flexed her fingers, feeling the glove emit some type of energy.

 

“That’s the shock glove you were failing to build,” Opal pointedly answered.

 

Asami rolled her eyes, ignoring the light jab of her teasing, “How does it work?”

 

“It’s simple. I tuned it to the frequency of the nanobots in your body.” Asami started to open her mouth to explain but a raised hand from Opal cut her off. “Don’t even try to deny it. I ran tests on myself. That creepy tank of yours likes to leave nanobots in your body. So…” She lifted her shirt to reveal her healed and enhanced stomach, “when I found them still in my system, I figured there are still some in yours. Actually, considering you’ve been in that tank more times than your age, you’re practically half cyborg by now.”

 

Asami said nothing. She knew about this the first time she invented the nanobots and the first time she walked into the tank. She knew they stayed in your system. She had invented them that way and having **her** nanobots in your system was perfectly harmless. She remembered what she discovered when she invented her nanobots. But bit her tongue to stop herself from spilling the one secret she hadn’t told Opal yet.

 

“Show me how it works, then?” Asami said, extending her left hand in Opal’s direction. Who promptly took a step back causing Asami to furrow her brows.  


“I don’t want to be close when you activate that! But,” Opal grinned, big and excited, “Since it’s tuned to the nanobots in your body, all you have to do is think.”

 

Asami did as was told and within seconds, the glove sparked to life, releasing a strong blue light. She stumbled back, surprised at the intensity and strength. She had felt the nanobots pool into her stomach. Once the thought of activating the glove entered her mind, she felt a group of nanobots push to her left arm and then the surge of power they created. “Whoa,” she breathed. She was high off the power, dizzy from the rush.

 

“Okay, slow down there speed racer,” Opal said, reaching out to steady her boss. Asami smiled weakly at the teasing name through the haze in her mind. “Asami, breathe.” Opal grunted as she pulled Asami up to a chair and forced her to sit down. “Every time you use the glove, you release some of the nanobots in your body. The higher the voltage, the more nanobots you release. It’s not perfectly controlled because I don’t have the exact frequency yet so for now, use it as a last resort.”

 

Now she knew why she staggered after activating the glove. The nanobots she learned to accept, as if they were a part of her, were leaving her body; their home.

 

_Right, definitely a last resort_.

 

Asami took a deep breath. Then another, each breath giving her mind the clarity it needed to function again. “Thanks,” her voice came out ragged so she cleared her throat. “That was crazy.” She burned Opal’s warning into her brain, pushing away the thought of what might happen if all the nanobots in her body were completely depleted.

 

As Asami continued to catch her breath, Opal handed her a water bottle. After she made sure she was okay, she asked, “Ready?”

 

The assassin stood up and let familiar adrenaline race through her blood. She cracked her neck and stretched her muscles. Pulling the hood of her suit over her head, she grabbed the small earpiece and slipped it underneath her hood. “Ready.”

 

~~

 

“Coordinates for the warehouse are already set in your Satomobile,” Opal’s voice was clear over the small earpiece which Asami thought she’d never have to use. She had invented the earpiece one day out of pure boredom but was never able to test it out. In the field, she was always alone. A comforting feeling washed over her now, knowing she wasn’t alone anymore because someone was finally watching over her.

 

Asami sighed happily, “What would I do without you Opal?”

 

“Die,” Opal deadpanned, “No, really. You would’ve died in the Future Industries’ parking garage. You’re welcome,” she said with a **very** sassy undertone.

 

Asami chuckled, letting the warmth spread throughout her. A comfortable silence fell over them.

 

“So…” Opal drawled, breaking the silence. “Detective Korra…”

 

Oh no, she was not in the mood for more teasing. She had to focus, “Opal…”

 

“Wait, hear me out. I won’t tease you,” she paused, “much.”

 

Asami was positive her secretary was sticking her tongue out and winking, “Fine.” She caved. Man, she’s so weak when it comes to Korra. Which scared the crap out of Asami because they literally met only twice. She’ll never let Opal know that because she’d never let her live it down.

 

“You’re happy with her. I can tell. I’ve never seen you smile like that. Ever. I could’ve sworn you were a robot up until now,” Opal laughed. “You’ve been alone, Ms. Sato. I’ve witnessed you fall only to pick yourself back up again. I’ve seen you suffer and I don’t want that for you. With her,” she paused, sighing happily thinking about the way she felt about Bolin and how she wanted her boss to have the same kind of happiness, “you’re all dopey grins and flushed cheeks around her.”

 

Asami groaned in embarrassment, “But she doesn’t even know I’m the Invisible Hunter. Hell, if she finds out, she’ll probably slap some handcuffs on my wrist and it won’t be in the fun way.” 

 

Opal snorted in response, “All I’m saying is go talk to her, maybe just maybe, she’ll understand why you do the things you do. She kinda does the same, she just doesn’t…run around with a knife.”

 

“Well, I did tell her that the next time I see her, it’ll be a date,” Asami’s cheeks flushed immediately at the confession. Her voice was nonchalant but she felt her heartbeat quicken.

 

She heard Opal start to choke on some liquid as she sputtered to respond, “Damn, Ms. Sato,” her voice was hoarse. “If I wasn’t in love with Bolin right now, I’d fall head over heels for you. But! Your game needs some work.”

 

Before Asami could reply, “Ah,” Opal tsked, “Focus Asami. My tracker says you’re there.”

 

The assassin bit her tongue, having absolutely no idea why she had to defend her self about flirting. She was no stranger to flirting, since she would use her seduction techniques to con targets, but maybe Korra really did throw her off her game. She was a distraction for her after all. She shook her head, willing away any negative thoughts, or any thoughts really, about Korra. It was time to focus.

 

Remembering that Opal said they could start here, her heart raced with adrenaline as she did a quick check of her suit and weapons. She was positive that this hunt would get her back to her old self: the deadly assassin who trained her whole life for hunts like these. Asami enjoyed the thrill but also the fact that she’d be saving hundreds of people after this. She was like a predator stalking its prey, savoring every moment, building the fear of her prey just to make the final, life-ending strike a delightful finish.

 

~~

 

“Anything?” Opal’s voice crackled through the earpiece.

 

Asami frowned, kicking a nearby crate, sending it flying across the length of the warehouse where it shattered against the wall upon impact. “Nothing,” she growled, kicking another empty crate. Okay, Asami loved the hunt but she didn’t expect to start empty handed.

 

“Hey, I told you that this was a good start. You can’t expect to find something in the first warehouse,” Opal said. “What was it they say? ‘All good things come to those who wait?’”

 

Asami scoffed at Opal’s teasing tone, “Whatever.”

 

“I have no idea how you made Future Industries successful. You’re so impatient. Stop, that, I know you’re rolling your eyes at me, Ms. Sato.”

 

Asami’s lips curled into a cheeky grin, even if her secretary couldn’t see her, “What can I say, Opal? I get shit done. Where’s the next warehouse? If it’s going to be like this, might as well search as many as we can tonight.”

 

The next nine warehouses however, proved to be fruitless. Asami’s frustration was starting to seep through her pores. “Opal, I didn’t think this would take all night,” she huffed.

 

“Why? Hot date waiting for you?” Asami could feel the smirk on Opal’s face.

 

“I wish,” Asami grumbled, “I can’t focus on Korra with everything that’s going on.” She punched the wall to her right, leaving a large hole in her fists’s wake, “‘I found Red Lotus,’ my ass.”

 

“Whoa, chill! I thought I did. I’m sorry? You try writing a computer program to find something that we didn’t know existed until pretty much five days ago,” Opal argued. “Oh, wait…you couldn’t.”

 

“You know, Opal,” Asami said, grunting while she climbed into her car, leaving behind another empty warehouse. “If you were anyone else, I would’ve fired you by now.”

 

Opal’s laugh blasted through the earpiece making Asami wince and rub her ear, “Lucky for you, Asami Sato, I’m not anyone else. I’m the best, the master.”

 

Asami scoffed, “No, you're just an asshole.” But she was only teasing, knowing the moniker wouldn’t bother Opal. She was reassured of such when another laugh filtered through. “Alright, I’m calling it a night. I’m tired and I don’t think I can take anymore of your teasing. You busy tonight, Opal?”

 

“Mmmm, Bolin got a pet uh, ferret? I think it’s a ferret? He’s been trying to teach it tricks which is entertaining for like ten minutes. But nah, I’d rather spend my night with a badass assassin and help her hunt down a frustratingly evasive terrorist group.”

 

Asami laughed at just the thought of Bolin tackling the responsibility of a pet, “Dinner at my place then? I’ll cook.” She climbed into her car, started it and felt the familiar hum of the engine.

 

As she sank into the comfort of her car’s seats and began to drive, her annoyance for the night slightly withered away.

 

“See you in a bit, Ms. Sato,” Opal replied, “But I’ll be cooking. As much as I love scrambled eggs and top ramen, I would rather not eat anymore of that. Do you even know how to cook anything else?”

 

“Ye-es?” Asami said sheepishly although the real answer was no. But hey at least she could cook something, right?

 

“Mmhmm, I guess cooking wasn’t on the list for assassin training.” 

 

Asami cracked up and continued their playful banter all the way to her loft.

 

The night was entirely unsuccessful which left Asami feeling frustrated. Frustrated because she wanted to punch somebody tonight. Instead, annoyance punched her in the face, landing a blow with every empty warehouse they found. She was frustrated because she couldn’t make any move towards Korra while a glooming cloud hovered over the city, threatening to unleash a downpour of acid rain with each night that passed.

 

It wasn’t just about Korra, don’t get her wrong, but it was also because she loved her city. They could be cruel, harsh and at one point, they were unforgiving. Some citizens probably still were because when Hiroshi Sato was found guilty of some inhumane crimes, eighteen-year-old Asami felt betrayed. The city felt the betrayal too. Almost immediately they abandoned Future Industries and the Sato name. They didn’t trust her. She didn’t blame them. She was left broken along with a company that would soon be bankrupt. Asami remembered the day in freakish vividness because well, how could she ever forget that day?

 

_Chief Lin Beifong had pounded on the door of her father’s estate. The peaceful dusk was a harsh contrast to the way the police barged in to arrest Hiroshi Sato. As a police officer cuffed him, rather aggressively, the officer read him his rights._

 

_Lin began her reason for arrest, “Hiroshi Sato, you are under arrest for the murder of Li Qiang, Zhang Wei, Sun Li, Fong Tsui…”_

 

_The list went on, totaling up to ten innocent people. Her father had killed them all. And when Asami stared in horror at her father, his face had no emotion to show he was even remotely ashamed. Instead, he held his head high and didn’t bother to meet her eyes._

 

_Future Industries was given to her the next morning and she had no time to dwell on the pain that took residence in the room within her heart. A pain she hadn’t felt since she lost her mother when she was young, too young; ten to be exact. She no longer had a mother who would walk her through the awkward teenage years and now, there was no father to coach her into a successful reign at Future Industries. Instead, Asami Sato accomplished all this and more, on her own._

 

_Over the next six years, investors slowly migrated back to supporting Future Industries, but it was more like supporting the CEO and her vision rather than the company itself. The Sato name was tainted by Hiroshi but Asami Sato was her own powerful woman. She was her own Sato. Her strikingly good looks may have given her some leeway but her brilliant mind finally got the ball rolling in the right direction. Asami dedicated herself to her company by inventing and distributing technologies that served to benefit her city._

 

_She redesigned the city’s infrastructure so it could function at an optimal level. She reinvented the Satomobile to operate better, last longer, and cost five times cheaper than when her father was in charge. Together, with Opal, they invented phones so her citizens could reach anyone from across the world to anyone across the city. They invented the television so her people could enjoy sports and news at the click of a button. Every moment she was able to spare, she invented recycling methods so the world would continue to strive and survive longer. And whatever money Asami was able to spare (which was usually a billion yuan, give or take. But hey, who’s counting?) that year, she’d donate to charities across the world. And within the walls of the extravagant Future Industries HQ building, Asami connected with her employees. She learned and befriended every name, their story, and their passions. She sent her employees’ children to college, payed for large medical bills, and threw company picnics and events so that everyone became closer._

 

_Within those six years, all of Asami’s tenacity and compassion paid off, earning her a spot in the top five of the Fortune 500 list and her title of youngest, most successful CEO alive. She took the company farther than her father ever did. And if that wasn’t a perfect slap to the face for Hiroshi, then well…fuck him. He’s a mass murderer._

 

The memory’s events reminded Asami that the the only constant in her life was Opal. Teasing yet respectful Opal, who had been by her side since high school and stayed there through Hiroshi’s trial. Opal shared the same love and strength when it came to her city and Future Industries. That’s probably why they got along so well. Opal’s heart broke along with Asami’s when Hiroshi was sentenced to life in prison and her heart soared with Asami’s when she revived Future Industries from the grave it was buried in. She was grateful for Opal who became her true friend; her only best friend, who she was able to trust completely. Besides, without Opal she wouldn’t have been out here tonight, searching for Red Lotus.

 

“Hey, Opal?” Asami asked, pulling herself out of her thoughts to park the Satomobile inside the garage of the loft. The sun was beginning to rise, confirming how long they had stayed up searching. The red-orange hue of the sky filtered bright beams of light over the loft’s roof, causing her to squint her eyes. The sound of crashing waves and the salty smell of the sea nearby, comforted her senses. It filled her with the warmth she felt from recalling Opal’s unwavering loyalty to her. This was all just proof of what she had accomplished: her loft, the company, and earning a best friend in the process. Despite her choice of being an assassin, Asami still relished in the fact that another day meant another breath, another moment that she was alive.

 

Opal’s hum in response through the earpiece pulled at the corners of Asami’s mouth, “Thank you,” she said as she walked into the loft. 

 

The secretary’s bright and smiling face greeted Asami inside, “You’re welcome, Ms. Sato.”

 

Despite the failure of the night, Asami was glad her best friend was right by her side. She was glad she wasn’t doing this alone.

 

“We’ll start early tomorrow. Don’t worry we’ll get them. Come on, let’s eat dinner…breakfast? Brinner?”

 

Asami roared with laughter, her heart still beating warmly underneath her chest.

 

~~

 

They would start early today, an hour before the sun set. Asami finished gearing up her suit with meticulous hands. Once she finished, she put on the sleek black suit, flexing her muscles to adjust to the tightness. As she slid the blade contraption over her right forearm, cold metal prickled her skin. A pleasing shiver ran down her spine. The blade was familiar, a comfort for her but as she slipped the electric glove onto her left hand, a chill shot through her. She didn’t want to have that suffering to take control of her body again. She kept the consequences of using the glove to herself but she knew she couldn’t hide it for long. “I really hope today isn’t like yesterday, Opal,” Asami commented.

 

Opal shrugged, “At least we already have a warehouse to start with tonight. I found one this morning.”

 

Asami grumbled, this was starting to feel like a game of ‘which cup is the ball under?’ but instead of three cups, it was like a thousand cups. But she accepted her fate of yet another long night and turned to leave the loft.

 

“Oh! Ms. Sato! I almost forgot!” Asami turned back around and walked back to the secretary who was now stationed by a microscope which she eyed suspiciously. “I’m gonna need your blood,” Opal stated, straight-faced. The secretary pulled a pair of latex gloves on as she gathered a plastic bin and gingerly picked up a thin needle.

 

Asami audibly gulped. Her eyebrow twitched and sweat began to form on her brow. _Well, secrets can never be kept…I guess_.

 

But maybe she could hold this off, stall for more time before Opal could discover the very last secret about her. A secret she swore she’d never tell anyone, not even Opal.

 

_Yeah, I’ll stall. I can stall, right?_

 

“Maybe,” Asami said, pausing to carefully push the needle and Opal’s hands away from her, “we can do that later? I’m about to go out there and you want me to be woozy from getting my blood drawn? Uh, no thanks.”

 

Opal’s eyes flashed through disappointment, understanding, and then of course, playful. Asami averted her eyes to the side, ready for the smart remark, “Scared of needles, Sato?” She smirked, “ Besides, tonight might be uneventful again. Come on, I’ll even hold your hand while you look away.”

 

“Oh yeah? Then how’re you going to withdraw my blood? And you don’t know that, we might find them tonight.” Oh, she for sure she won this teasing match. 

 

The secretary opened her mouth to reply but instead reached up to hold her chin, lost in her thoughts and searching for a reply, “No, you’re right, I just needed an excuse to hold your hand.” She winked, earning a groan and wide eyes from the CEO. With a shake of her head, Opal waved off Asami’s defeated face, “I really do need your blood, though.”

 

Opal’s bottom lip jutted out but not in a pout. She stuck her tongue between her teeth and Asami knew that look very well. Once Opal set her mind to a task, she would get it done and finish it faster than your average secretary, or person really. Before this could spiral out of control, Asami needed to prevent her from thinking of crazy ways to draw her blood. “Wait, wait, wait! I’ll give my blood to you but later, I really want to be focused and I’m not even sure how much you need so…why do you need my blood anyway?”

 

“I need a decent amount,” Opal mused. “You’re right but I wanted to tweak the glove a bit, give you more control. If I could get the frequencies aligned perfectly, I could create a limit so you don’t go through that scary episode again. I want to perfect it.” Her face twisted into concern, “I had trouble finding the exact frequency for your nanobots to work with the glove. That’s probably why it was ridiculously strong. I was so worried about you, Ms. Sato! I was afraid my invention hurt you.” During the final sentence, her voice grew soft and her head dipped low in shame.

 

Asami blinked. Yesterday she thought it was Opal’s unwavering loyalty to her that confirmed their friendship. But she had felt so guilty about hurting her boss, her best friend, her only ally. She truly cared for the CEO.

 

Asami’s heart leapt for joy, jumping around the protective room, linking arms with the secretary she let in all those years ago. The genuine concern for Asami’s wellbeing solidified their bond. And as she looked at her best friend, her face looked like it was split in half.

 

“I’m fine, Opal. I’ll give you my blood, just not tonight, we’ve got work to do.” 

 

_I don’t want you to find out, especially not after this_. The unspoken words laid untouched at the tip of her tongue.

 

Asami silently gulped down her negative thoughts, the grin still on her face.

 

Wiping her eyes roughly, Opal looked up at Asami, meeting her with a matching face-splitting grin, “Let’s do this.”

 

~~

 

The blood issue was quickly forgotten as the next three nights left Asami and Opal crumbled into a ball of exhaustion and frustration. They felt a lot like they were being punched in the gut then promptly left in the corner to be mocked by the Red Lotus. If they thought the first night of their search was bad, then these past three nights were nightmares. Each empty warehouse, every empty crate and all the sounds of nothing, absolutely nothing infuriated Asami.

 

“Seriously, how in the hell are we supposed to find them?!” Asami growled, kicking down a wall. Her upgraded strength caused small pieces of concrete and debris to fly everywhere. It was night number four and its results were the same as its predecessors. She wasn’t truly mad, no, but she sure as hell was annoyed. This was four nights too long of a search with no clues and it was a week since she had actually worked at the company.

 

They had, in total, searched about thirty warehouses all around the city. Twenty-five of those once empty warehouses were now littered with broken crates and destroyed walls. None of which was Asami’s fault…okay, all of it was her fault but she was just so annoyed by the nonexistence of clues. If it wasn’t a terrorist group they were hunting, she probably would have laughed at this game. But her city was in danger and there was an endless amount of nothing to help them.

 

“Ms. Sato,” Opal called, her voice sounded strained and tired; exactly how Asami felt. “Let’s just call it a night.”

 

“But—“

 

“But nothing! One, my actual butt hurts from sitting in this chair relaying you information. Two, if you find anymore empty warehouses, you might just kick it literally to the ground. Three, I’m so bored! If I have to hear another echo from an empty warehouse or you raging on a poor, innocent crate again, I’m going to rip my hair out, ball it up, and stuff the little hairballs into my ears.”

 

“Ew!” Asami cried, “That is just graphic, Opal. And gross. Really disgusting.”

 

“Ms. Sato, I know you’re worried about Republic City but what good will you be when you find Red Lotus and you’re exhausted, too frustrated to fight? You need a clear head for this and the past four nights gave us the opposite. Take a break,” she sighed, leaning back into her chair causing a creaking sound to come through the earpiece. “Maybe…I don’t know, run your company?”

 

Opal was right and at the mention of Future Industries, Asami perked up. It took her less than five seconds to agree. Besides, if they went any longer tonight, Opal’s frustration and boredom would clash with Asami’s annoyance and impatience. Opal saved them both by cutting their hunt short tonight. Plus, Asami hadn’t been to the company in over a week, she missed everyone.

 

“Ms. Sato, don’t worry. I can still search for Red Lotus tomorrow at the office,” reassured Opal.

 

Asami beamed, _Opal’s the best._

 

~~

 

The next morning, Asami fell into her normal routine, never missing a beat as if she’d never taken her mini vacation. If one even considered that stressful week a vacation. When she walked into the office, she was greeted with small cheers and big smiles. During the workday, employees paraded in and out of her office to either welcome her back and chat with her or actually conduct business.

 

Those who came to talk would perk up at the mention of a family member or a pet or one of their kids. Whenever Asami asked about such things, she gained surprised looks and soft eyes as they began their story. Others looked at her with respect and admiration as she led a business meeting to a sensible and effective solution, even Varrick seemed happy to see her.

 

During lunch, she visited the departments of her building and being in a particularly good mood, she ordered pizza for the whole building. She generously tipped the overworked delivery guys, even offering them pizza. Going back to Future Industries was the best decision Asami made all week.

 

The CEO and the secretary were comfortably seated on the large couch near a large floor-to-ceiling window in Asami’s office. They snuck away from the impromptu pizza party downstairs in the building’s commons.

 

“Soo…,” Opal drawled, “any ideas on what you’re gonna do for your big date?”

 

Two pizza boxes sat on the glass coffee table in front of them, still piping hot from the oven. Asami’s box may have been empty. What? She was starving and you burn a lot of calories when you’re an assassin. She scarfed down her last slice, already reaching for a slice from Opal’s box. She ignored the secretary’s raised eyebrow. Before she could tease her, Asami replied, “No, not really. I haven’t given it much thought. Too busy, you know, **not finding** Red Lotus.”

 

Opal’s eyes lit up, the stolen pizza already forgotten, “I have a few ideas.” She pulled out her phone, opening a note she had created for this particular occasion.

 

“Oh my god,” Asami said, choking on her bite of pizza, “You wrote it down?!”

 

“Yeah, why not?”

 

“You’re such a nerd, Opal.”

 

“Shut up,” the secretary retorted. She began to read off the list of ideas. When she finished, Asami stared, open-mouthed. Opal’s face took on a pink hue, “What?”

 

“Opal,” she began, “These ideas are so fucking cute and corny, it makes me want to vomit and grin at the same time.” Opal glared at her. “Why are these ideas for me and not for you and Bolin?”

 

“Hah! Like I can afford any of these things.”

 

Now she definitely wanted to give her secretary a raise, “Well, I think I’ll take the helicopter ride idea. And Opal, if you ever want to go all out on a date with Bolin, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

 

Opal’s emerald eyes flashed excitedly, “You have no idea how much that means to me, Asami,” she said with her hand laid over her chest. “Thank you.”

 

Pure delight filled Asami’s chest and later that night when they continued the hunt for Red Lotus, only to find nothing again, her chest was still warm from the day’s events.

 

The next night, however, the warmth in her chest was replaced with adrenaline. It was the sixth night of their search. Earlier that day, Opal discovered an abandoned Red Lotus laboratory, giving them a break from large empty warehouses. And damn, was she grateful for the discovery because they finally found a clue, a sliver of a scent that would lead the hunting pair in what they hoped to be the right direction.

 

“Opal, I wish you were here to see this,” Asami said, “there’s a lot of tech in here that would get your panties wet.”

 

Opal laughed so hard, she snorted whatever liquid she had been drinking through her nose, “Ow,” she groaned.

 

“Jeez, Opal, I was just kidding but now I know electronics get you going.”

 

“Very funny,” she snapped, “What’d you find?”

 

Asami turned her attention to the large room. It barely had any windows but moonlight shone through the small rectangular windows. As the light entered the lab, it lit up portions of the room in thin boxes. She fished out her flashlight to illuminate the areas uncovered in moonlight.

 

From what she observed, the room was an open space. To her left was a row of over-head cabinets, two sinks, and rows of drawers. The wood, which Asami figured was once white, was now weathered and distressed, taking on a yellow hue. Some cabinets had no doors while the ones that did hung on its hinges, holding on for dear life. And in the corner to her left, a pair of filing cabinets stood with some of its drawers yanked out. It looked like someone was trying to empty out its contents but Asami found scraps of shredded paper in a mountain to hide a file underneath. She wasn’t sure if it was deliberate but a clue was a clue. With a shrug, she collected the file and finished checking the left side of the room. She turned to the rest of the room, hoping there were more clues to be found.

 

In the middle of the room were three long metal tables with the middle table holding a broken microscope. _Probably for some type of experiment_. The last long table had a row of computers, “Hey Opal, there’re some computers here.”

 

“Great! See if you can get the hard drives?”

 

“In a sec,” Asami replied. She shuffled to the unexplored portion of the room. There were televisions, smashed and broken but still suspended against the ceiling. When her flashlight beamed to the wall behind the televisions, she paled. “Opal…” she croaked.

 

“Ms. Sato? You okay? Did you see a ghost?”

 

“No. Cages. There are cages.”

 

Opal’s response was a laugh, “ **It is a lab**. They’re probably for rats or something.”

 

Asami shook her head until she realized Opal couldn’t see her, “Not unless the animals were the size of a human. She shined her flashlight over the rest of the wall. The cages were large enough to allow a bed and some walking space. The distance between the bars were too wide for small animals but too thin for Asami to slip through. 

 

She heard Opal gulp, “Oh.”

 

An uneasy silence settled between the two. Asami wanted to get out of there, right that second. She was afraid that Red Lotus would pop out of nowhere and lock her into one of the cages. But she had a mission to complete and a hunt to continue. So she quickly scanned the cages for useful clues.

 

Thankfully she found none and quickly looked away from the bone-chilling metal, “Opal, hurry up and tell me what I need to do for the hard drives. I wanna get the fuck out of here.”

 

There was a pause as if Opal wasn’t aware she was being addressed, then, “Right.” She promptly told her how to remove the hard drives from the computers. Unfortunately, she was only able to retrieve one hard drive but Opal reassured her that she would be able to recover it. She stowed away her findings and left the lab without a second thought.

 

~~

 

“That was creepy as hell,” Asami breathed. She returned to the loft to examine the hard drive and file there, not wanting to be near the Red Lotus lab and the creepy cages. The hunting pair didn’t bother to check on another building either because Opal hadn’t found another one yet and the contents of this lab were enough to hold them off for the rest of the night. The night would be spent going through the clues they found anyway.

 

“So what can you do with this?” Asami asked, gesturing to the hard drive.

 

“Just watch the master,” Opal wiggled her fingers with a confident smirk and got to work.

 

While Asami waited for Opal to finish, she looked over the file. Which wasn’t too thick but it was filled with a few medical terms and information that she understood. But the worst part of it was that majority of the pages were redacted. What she could make out on the pages were the words: ‘Red Lotus, Subject 000, and nanobots.’

 

Asami frowned, _Nanobots?_

 

She knew, of course, that she hadn’t invented nanobots. Well, technically she did but those were the ones in her tank and the ones inside her and Opal. She remembered discovering the ones she hadn’t invented last year but she didn’t expect to find nanobots in an old Red Lotus lab file.

 

_“Fuck,” a twenty-year-old Asami grunted as she hauled herself up the steps to her bedroom in the loft. She just had this loft built too and now she was getting blood—her blood—all over the new carpet. Maybe she’ll change it to wood and probably an elevator. Stairs are a bitch when you’re injured._

 

_But all that will have to wait for next week because two large gashes made their way across her left thigh and left arm. Tonight had been sloppy. She was prepared to take on her first target—no, excited—what she was not prepared for was the sheer strength her target had. The guy was scrawny and shouldn’t have been able to pick up a glass coffee table with one hand, let alone throw it at her._

 

_She should not have let the target catch her off guard like that. Master Sokka trained her better than that._

 

_“You cannot expect to cross the sea if you stand there thinking. You need a boat, build one,” He had told her and then literally had her build a boat. She knew it was supposed to be a lesson in her assassin training but all she learned was that the ocean was a cruel and fickle thing._

 

_She sighed, at least she was able to finish off her target before he had a chance to do anything else. She hoped that she cleaned up the drops of her blood well enough. The last thing she wanted was to get caught after her first target, even if said target kidnapped women to sell them as sex slaves. She couldn’t go to a hospital like this, they’d question her._

 

_So, Asami cleaned and stitched the wounds herself, biting down the pain. It was a rough and ugly job and would definitely leave scars._

 

_After that night, Asami invented a suit that was both bullet proof and sharp, pointy objects proof but she needed something more. The suit would only do so much for her._

 

_Two years and ten successful, injury-free assassinations later, a twenty-two-year-old Asami had the idea of nanobots. Although they were still recovering, Future Industries was doing well despite the betrayal of her father four years ago. Which let Asami leave the company on sabbatical to develop the nanobots. She kept it all a secret, even from her loyal secretary, Opal. It took her the full year to perfect them but not without headaches, hair pulling and restless nights._

 

_Once she was absolutely positive the nanobots would work, she tested them on herself, too excited and refusing to test it on animals. Before she injected them, she withdrew some of her blood to match frequencies and compatibility. But what she found made Asami frown and her pride falter._

 

_Right there, in the eyepiece of the powerfully advanced electron microscope were nanobots. They were crude and bulky looking; ironically vintage for such advanced technology. They didn’t seem malicious, at least that’s what Asami thought at first. As she continued to run tests, the results were neither good nor bad._

 

_The first result wasn’t too bad, the nanobots weren’t inadvertently attacking her body._ Thank god.

 

_The second: they were old, probably a decade old._ How did this technology even exist ten years ago?!

 

_The third: they weren't enhancing her in the same way she had built hers. Instead, they seemed to be constantly repairing, kind of like her white blood cells._ Okay…this is starting to get weird.

 

_The fourth: there were some dead nanobots within her system so she repaired and revived those. The structure of these nanobots were unnecessarily complicated and sometimes confusing. She found a few ways to upgrade the nanobots and she did just that_. Probably shouldn’t be putting these antiques back into my body but hey, they’re not so bad, right?

 

_The fifth: she discovered that her nanobots were truly the upgraded version. Hers were more powerful, lasted longer within the body, physically enhanced you ten times better than the antiques, and quickly repaired any immediate damage found_. Hah! Whoever was the whack job that created these old ones can suck it!

 

_The sixth: she found that both types of nanobots needed to be stored and injected while in a nutrient filled liquid. This would ensure 100% effectiveness._ A tank maybe? I’d need an oxygen mask if I’m going to be completely submerged inside.

 

_The seventh: while her nanobots enhanced, both repaired. Hers however, were able to repair any immediate damage but could not cure a pre-existing condition like a disease you were born with or rid her limbs of the scars. She wanted to keep the scars anyway: a reminder to never let your opponent get the best of you. The old ones—she was positive—were only able to repair and their function and programming intrigued Asami. Upon further inspection, the old nanobots seemed to scatter through her body. They were replicating and repairing, a cycle that she thought was unnecessary because nothing was wrong with her. She frowned,_ this could be bad if they’re repairing something that isn’t broken.

 

_She decided to run a full check up on herself: blood tests, MRIs, X-rays, cat scans, the works. She made sure to double check that the nanobots wouldn’t threaten to break her skin trying to leave while under any magnetic waves or radiation. Thankfully, the nanobots didn’t leave her body; they liked her body too much._

 

_When she finally deciphered the results, she dropped the copy she had been holding up to the ceiling lights._

 

_“Oh…” Asami breathed, dropping to her knees, “I’’m—”_

 

“Ms. Sato? Are you okay?”

 

Asami blinked and looked back down at the file. A lone tear had landed onto the redacted papers and slowly began to seep through causing the ink to snake out like the tendrils of the Red Lotus symbol. She shivered and cleared her throat, “Yeah, Opal. I’m good.” She straightened up and avoided Opal’s gaze, instead she focused on the computer screen, “Find anything?”

 

“Yep, did you find anything in that file?”

 

Asami stepped forward to show her the file. “A lot of it is redacted but the obvious words are ‘Subject 000, Red Lotus, and nanobots.’”

 

“Nanobots?” Opal’s eyebrows came together and her eyes closed to slits as she studied the file. She frowned, “I thought you invented them.”

 

“I know! I had the same reaction too,” Asami exclaimed, throwing her hands up in disbelief. Of course she wasn’t going to tell Opal about the vintage nanobots in her body, not yet anyway. That’s why she wanted to stall her from withdrawing her blood. She’d see them and she’d know in a heartbeat. “My nanobots are much cooler anyway,” Asami said, jutting her chin out.

 

“And I thought you were modest.”

 

“Not when it comes to my inventions.”

 

“We-ell,” Opal stood up and stretched her legs. She collected her tablet and turned back to face the computer, “that file is redacted and I can’t really do anything with paper but I was able to get some info out of the hard drive. Not much, but it’s something.” 

 

Asami sat down in the seat in front of the computer and Opal took her perch against a table behind her, “Alright, show me.”

 

The secretary tapped on her tablet and the large computer screen responded. Windows displayed financial records, news clippings, pictures and invoices all across the screen. As she began her explanation, each window zoomed into view to emphasize whatever she was saying.

 

“From what I understand, Red Lotus was a company. A very successful one in fact. For seventy-six years, they operated just like that. They developed some pretty awesome tech. There are schematics here for machines that could cure some of the deadliest diseases.”

 

Asami quirked a brow and whirled around.

 

Opal chuckled at the astonished look of her boss, “I know right?! I thought it was fake too but here,” she paused to pull up another window, “the news clippings say otherwise. Anyway, they did more than medical though. They built a machine that could constantly generate clean drinking water for villages who had none. And a machine that could create rain for crops. Shit, Asami, this company was literally a force to be reckoned with. Pretty sure they’d give Future Industries a run for their money.”

 

Asami scoffed, “Okay, sure they invented some pretty awesome stuff but come on! We invented the phone, the Satomobile and the television! We rebuilt Republic City with our bare hands!”

 

“Their list goes on, Ms. Sato. Don’t worry though, they’re not gonna knock Future Industries out of the top five on the Fortune 500 list,” Opal argued and with a shrug she added, “They don’t even exist anymore. **As I was saying** , Red Lotus was powerful but twenty-four years ago, they disbanded. Right before you were born, Ms. Sato. And then the information stops there. The hard drive didn’t give me much to go on anyway. I’m sorry. But tomorrow I’ll see if I can find another lab.”

 

Asami nodded in approval at the progress they made tonight. She stifled a yawn behind her hand, “Oh, Opal! Before I forget, why don’t you stay here for awhile? At least while we search for Red Lotus. I know my Satomobiles can drive you home on autopilot but it’d be extremely convenient if you stayed here. Plus, you can cook us breakfast tomorrow.”

 

“Tired of top ramen and eggs, are we?’

 

“Shut up,” Asami replied but her tone was only playful, albeit a little tired. “Spare room is across the hall from mine, second floor.”

 

The secretary gave an enthusiastic nod and quickly cleaned up the training room before following her boss up the stairs. She watched Asami lock the training room with the hidden reader on the sleek white wall. “When can I get my hand print in the system?”

 

“Tomorrow, Opal, it’s late,” Asami grumbled, “Although, I’m surprised you haven’t done it already, considering you can hack into my system.”

 

With a loud chuckle, she followed the exhausted CEO up the stairs, “I was just waiting for you to say I could have it in the system. Good night, Ms. Sato.”

 

Asami smiled warmly and tiredly at her best friend before entering her room, “Good night, Opal.”

 

~~

 

The following morning was a mix of hunting and working. Opal busied herself with scheduling meetings for the CEO while simultaneously searching for the next lab they would search tonight. But she had found an effective way to do a preliminary search of the building which allowed less time to be wasted on the hunting pair’s parts. When Asami wondered how she was able to do that, she simply shrugged, saying, “I’m the master.”

 

Before Asami walked away, she muttered under her breath something that sounded like, ‘should’ve thought of that before I wasted six nights.’

 

“Be grateful,” Opal said, lightly smacking Asami’s arm before she moved away, “without me you’d be out there for god knows how long.”

 

Asami decided not to argue because well, she was right. So the CEO thanked Opal for all her hard work and went back to her own work.

 

As the day went on, Asami found herself with half the workday to spend as free time. She took the elevator down to her personal workshop, deciding to do something she never thought she’d do. When she entered the workshop, it felt a lot like the day she decided to return to Future Industries a couple days ago.

 

A skeleton or two of a Satomobile sat untouched for almost a month now. A couple more were in the back; half-finished, also untouched. And the completed models were shiny and brand new. A practiced hand had polished the metal surfaces with love and tender motions. The person who built these models clearly cherished them and it showed in the way the model boasted itself, proud of its maker. Asami was just as proud as well and she built all her cars with the same pride as she did with this one.

 

The workshop was its own timeline of her Satomobile inventions. But she wasn’t here to invent one, she just wanted to upgrade one. Now the thing about Asami’s personal Satomobiles was that all of them reflected her caution that came with being an assassin. Each model in her garage had several different defense mechanisms but there was one particular model she didn’t like to own or rather felt the need not to own: the luxury model.

 

Obviously, majority of the Satomobiles out right now were luxurious in their own way but the actual luxury model was something else entirely. For any of the general public that owned such a car, Asami shared a toned down version of her autopilot systems. They were made with the most expensive leather known to man ( _woman_ ), real bamboo accented the interior, and a type of technology that could pair your phone with the car allowing hands-free driving while simultaneously preventing phone related accidents.

 

This probably sounds absolutely amazing to people but to Asami she saw them as tools to boast your money, to impress someone and all that extra stuff was unnecessary to her. She preferred a simple, functional car where she could have the radio low and talk to her passengers or if she had none, the silence would allow her to think.

 

Sure, Asami had complete autopilot in her cars and advanced defense systems but in reality, she loved simplicity. So whenever she could, she’d drive, only activating autopilot if she had to work on something for the company or for her assassinations or you know, when she’s bleeding all over her seats.

 

But today, she would take advantage of one of the two things a luxury model could offer: to impress someone. She didn’t need to flaunt her money because everyone knew how rich she was but mainly because she had no desire to do such a thing. If anything, Asami was modest and generous with her money. Her inventions, on the other hand, were a different thing entirely.

 

Tweaking a luxury model was fairly easy; it was already luxurious. But there was the threat of the Red Lotus blanketing her city so she fitted the Satomobile with varying defense mechanisms. She’d never tell Korra of these, _duh_ , but she hoped that Korra would enjoy the Satomobile and all of its awesome entertainment tech. Or you know, be distracted by Asami herself but she was too embarrassed to even admit that to herself.

 

It was past midnight when she decided that the progress she made was good enough. As she was leaving her personal workshop, she received a text.

 

**[Opal, 12:17AM]:** Ms. Sato? R u alive down there?

 

**[Asami, 12:20AM]:** Oh shit! I lost track of time, sorry!

 

**[Asami, 12:21AM]** : Were you able to find another lab?

 

**[Opal, 12:25AM]** : Yes but the new method I discovered is letting us relax a bit

 

**[Asami, 12:26AM]** : Thank god! So we can just wait for another good place to search?

 

**[Opal, 12:27AM]** : Yep! I wrote a program today that automatically searches it for us ;)

 

**[Opal, 12:27AM]** : See u @ home? I’ll cook :)

 

Asami’s shoulders tensed as she stared at the word, ‘home.’ Why was she affected by that word? She didn’t know. Maybe it’s because she lost her home when she was ten? Maybe because it was shattered when she lost her mother to brain cancer and her father to grief and later, to murder. She bit back the tears threatening to fall, grateful that everyone had gone home for the night. No, this wasn’t sadness, it wasn’t grief. Not anymore at least. Her loft wasn’t home, even Future Industries wasn’t home. Even though she cared for her company as if it were her own child.

 

Asami Sato never had a place to call home…until now; until her best friend said it. She didn’t realize it but Opal had found a way to take permanent residence in that protective room around her heart. 

 

_Home. A place to feel safe. Secure. Loved. Where I have family._

 

And Opal had given her just that: a family within her best friend. Home was her friendship and loyalty with the secretary.

 

She was the lone assassin, the Invisible Hunter. For fourteen long years, Asami had isolated herself in that protective room. But ever so slowly and carefully, two people found their way in. Master Sokka came in with respect and controlled exuberance, allowing Asami to accept his presence with reverence. Opal came in even softer with tenacity and compassion that reflected the secretary’s personality. There was one person, however, who didn’t give two craps about her walls: Korra.

 

Korra was the only one who came in recklessly, kicking down the walls with abandon. It scared Asami into a corner but soon enough, she gathered the courage to leave the corner and face the dark-skinned detective who so rudely barged in. What she found however, was not a wild person but a confident yet soft, blue-eyed detective. The illustrious figure before her was beautiful and Asami found herself wanting to stand eye to eye with her, to walk beside her, to support her, to be hers, to hold her, to love her. She wanted to feel full and alive, like the attitude emanating from the detective. She only prayed that Korra would feel the same.

 

She found protection with Master Sokka, friendship with Opal, and she wanted love from Korra. All three were the perfect backbone for building a home. Her eyes twinkled, hoping one day she would be protected, cared for and loved unconditionally, creating a home she hadn’t possessed in years.

 

Her vision blurred slightly with the tears starting to brim. But the lump in her throat wasn’t sadness. It was pure happiness.

 

**[Asami, 12:34AM]** : See you at home.

 

~~

 

The following nights were a breeze for the hunting pair. With Opal’s new method, Asami was able to run her company effortlessly and with the extra free time, she prepped for the date with Korra without having to worry about going out. Of course, Opal still managed to find labs and warehouses at least once a night but all they found were more redacted files. 

 

She didn’t know when she’d be able to see Korra again but she was hoping for it to be soon. A call to the city’s best florist gave Asami a bouquet ready at a moment’s noticed. She did the same when she scheduled the helicopter flight with a private company and for her dinner reservations. All three businesses had no trouble bending over backwards for the CEO. She had helped them in the past and decided to cash in on the favors they offered. With the perfect date for Korra finally under her belt and with her company running so smoothly that she didn’t even need to be there, Asami was getting bored.

 

So, when Opal finally texted her with a possible lead, she jumped way too quickly out of her chair and left the building so fast, her employees thought she was sick.

 

Once Asami reached her loft to suit up, Opal explained what she found. It was another lab but tonight, she said was different and without any questions Asami trusted her. And for that reason alone, she put on her suit for the tenth night and stepped into the chilly night air.

 

~~

 

Okay, Asami probably says this too much, but really, Opal’s a scary genius. She had been right with the lab because as soon as Asami walked in, her senses shifted into overdrive. There was no one else there, of course, but the smell of formaldehyde mixed with…something putrid relentlessly attacked her nose. Her full face mask was not helping at all and she wanted to vomit because the putrid smell alone was causing her stomach to turn.

 

The lab looked newer, cleaner than the other ones, despite its smell. It was obvious to her that this lab was one of Red Lotus’s more recent ones. It was so hastily torn apart that she wondered what exactly happened that caused them to pack up so messily and unorganized. She wondered too, why no one bothered to clean this up.

 

_Something doesn’t feel right_.

 

Papers and boxes still littered the floor but the furniture looked fairly new. The cabinets to her left were white, the filing cabinets were closed, only a few computers were smashed, microscopes were still intact and along the wall in front of her were rows and columns of metal doors. Learning, her lesson from the very first lab she found, Asami decided to collect all that she could from the computers and the filing cabinets. Which were **a lot** , so much that she had to take two trips to put everything into her car.

 

When she finished putting all her findings away, she went back inside to examine the metal doors. As she moved closer, the smell intensified, causing her to place a hand over her nose and mouth. Asami cautiously opened one of the doors and immediately wished she hadn’t. She wished that she had just driven off, away from the lab with her findings secure in the car.

 

But she opened it and a thick cloud of that putrid smell assaulted her, causing her to reel back and clamp the hand tighter around her nose and mouth. She coughed, trying to force that god awful smell out of her lungs. She shut her eyes, scared that the smell might get into her eyes only to make them burn. Sure enough, when she finally opened them again, she wished she kept them shut. Her eyes burned immediately as she tried to blink through the haze to see what was behind the metal door.

 

Oh god, how she wished she had just left before opening that damn door. Behind the door, on a long metal drawer, was a mass of black and brown, dripping with some kind of liquid. As drops fell onto the floor, she stared with horror into the black holes of the skull in front of her. The bones were black, the only color coming from the medical gown that was probably the last thing this person was wearing. The hair was long and sprawled across the tray, falling over the edges in a crude fashion. The teeth were yellow and the mouth was opened into a permanent silent scream. The longer Asami stared at the black holes of its eyes, the longer she felt the itching feeling that the skull was slowly turning its neck to look at her. Surely, she was imagining things. A loud thump above the body made Asami release the scream she had been holding.

 

Another mass of black had fallen on top of the body in front of her. It probably came from the space above it but the way the mass fell made her want to vomit. But she couldn’t, she didn’t want to leave any evidence of her presence, instead she was forced to stare at a set of black holes. This time, it wasn’t a skull but a completely decayed face with its eyes half-lidded. The eyes were staring in her direction, its mouth fell open on top of the skeleton and the liquid that coated the skeleton, began diffusing to the space in the open mouth. Both bodies, frozen in silent screams, stared at Asami with black holes and lifeless eyes. She wanted to cry, run away, or do both but the shock anchored her in place.

 

She realized that the combination of smells from earlier were from the bodies in front of her. She held her breath to approach the door to close it, her hand shaking as she neared the bodies. It seemed like the eyes of the person on top were following the direction of her hand but it wasn’t really, right? They were dead. Absolutely horrified, she didn’t breathe again until she was sure the door was closed but the image of an open mouthed skeleton and an opened mouth decaying body on top of each other, staring her down, still haunted her. She stepped back, trying to put as much distance as her body allowed her to. Once she was at the door of the lab, she collapsed into the street, finally taking a breath to fill her screaming lungs with clean air.

 

It was then that she realized her ears had been ringing and Opal’s screaming finally pushed its way through. “—okay?! Asami! Answer me! Are you okay?! Are you there?!” There was scrambling on the other end. Two doors opening and closing and then the jingle of keys. “I’m on my way! Stay there! Fuck!”

 

“Opal,” Asami croaked.

 

“Asami?! Oh my god! Are you okay? God! Don’t scare me like that!” Two doors had opened and closed again and then the jingle of keys as they landed on a metal table. 

 

“Dead body,” she whimpered.

 

“What?”

 

“There’s a dead body,” she replied, louder.

 

“A what?! Should we call the police?” Opal’s voice was laced with fear, concern, confusion; too many emotions at one time. But then her voice shook with the emotion that took control over everything: fear.

 

“No,” Asami quietly answered, her voice slowly coming back but her hands and her legs still shook. Wanting to get as much distance as she could from the lab, she crawled away towards her car, “We can’t call the police right now. If they find me in here, they’ll think I did this. That the lab is mine.”

 

“Asami, get to your car, I’ll get you home,” the secretary seemed to come to her senses because her tone was commanding and the safety of her best friend was the only thing important to her at the moment.

 

Asami’s body seemed to know what it needed to do but her mind was blank. Opal managed to activate the autopilot system in her car from the loft and got her home safely. Her mind was still in a haze and a faint ringing still lingered in her ears. She wordlessly unloaded the clues from her car and numbly dropped them onto the metal table in the training room. Even when she went to her car for the second trip, her body was still on autopilot and if she hadn’t been so trapped in her own mind, she probably would have noticed a man watching her from the house across the street with cold, calculating eyes.

 

Instead, Asami walked inside, grateful to be far away from the lab. She didn’t bother to greet Opal, as she silently navigated through the living room to the balcony, where she sat down, hugging her legs to her chest. Her verdant eyes were blank, staring out at the ocean. She focused on its movements, willing herself to calm down. Taking deep, long breaths of salty sea air did nothing to remove the persistent smell of death from her nose. She’s seen dead bodies before but never when they were decaying and covered in some kind of liquid. She had never smelled rotten flesh, or stared at the black holes that once held the eyes of a living person. No, only the metallic scent of blood dripping from her blade and her target was the smell she was used to.

 

Having noticed how shook up Asami was, Opal offered her non-verbal comfort which Asami was grateful for. Opal didn’t hug her boss because that just wasn't what they do. Instead, the secretary handed her a glass of water, along with a glass of whiskey and sat down next to her. She patted her shoulder and silently watched the ocean with her, patiently waiting for her to calm down. 

 

Moments later, Asami sighed, “Are you okay? I’m sorry. I know I scared you back there.”

 

Chuckling dryly, Opal shook her head, “I should be the one asking that,” she turned towards Asami then, her eyes glossy from unshed tears and concern clearly written on her face. “Are you? Okay, I mean.”

 

Asami bowed her head with a heavy sigh, “I don’t know how we’re gonna get the police there but we’ll figure something out, we always do.”

 

Opal hummed in agreement as both women thought back to the troubles they faced and solved together back when Future Industries was struggling to stay afloat, “Yes we do.”

 

~~

 

Asami and Opal had calmed down but neither woman could truly push away the shock of the events. They agreed that throwing themselves back into the hunt would temporarily alleviate some of the shock. Maybe even find answers for the bodies in the lab. Asami ordered take out for dinner because tonight was going to be a long and tough one. Neither of them wanted to cook anyway, or suffer from eggs and top ramen again.

 

“Hey, you actually grabbed hard drives worth cracking into!” Opal exclaimed reaching for the box filled with veggie wraps. They were in the training which was usually pristine—thanks to Asami—but now, it was littered with files, take out boxes, electronics, and papers. Asami’s hands itched to start cleaning because the mess was stressing her out but her hands still shook slightly from the events moments ago. She also knew that the second she cleaned an area, it would be replaced with Opal’s tools or their food. Asami’s corner, of course, was neat and orderly. 

 

Deciding that temporarily forgetting about the dead bodies would be the only way to actually make progress tonight, Asami cried, with her hand clutching the fabric of her shirt as she pouted. “No faith, Opal! I’m hurt.”

 

Opal shrugged, “I think you always forget that I did majority of the electronic stuff when we invented the phone and television.”

 

Asami chuckled, she’d never forget how hard they worked and fought with each other, “Still, I can work electronic stuff too!”

 

“Sure you can.”

 

“Come on asshole, let’s go see what we found.”

 

It turns out that Asami brought back so many hard drives, poor Opal spent the entire weekend going through all of them. It took Asami just as long when she realized she brought back just as many files, maybe even more. 

 

After the long, tiresome weekend filled with restless nights and a few naps here and there, the hunting pair shared their findings with each other. Asami sat in the chair in front of the large computer. She signaled to Opal who was leaning against a table again with her tablet in hand, to start.

 

“Those hard drives actually held a lot of info and by that, I mean a lot of secrets.” Asami dipped her head along with the information, showing she was paying attention. “I did the math and it looks like Red Lotus has been around for a century. At first it was a simple company, wanting to do good, time went on, tech was developed and improved, blah blah blah, you remember the rest. One name was pooping up throughout this though. I think you managed to get his computer’s hard drive.”

 

“Still have no faith in me, Opal?”

 

The secretary rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah, gold star for you, Ms. Sato. Ya-ay…”

 

“That’d be nice,” Asami said with a cheeky grin.

 

Shaking her head, Opal continued, “Right, where was I?”

 

“Gold star for me?”

 

Opal sighed and palmed her hand into her face, “Now I know how you feel every time I make fun of you,” she groaned, moving her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose.

 

Asami threw her head back and laughed. It was a nice break from the grueling weekend they endured. Both women sported messy buns atop their hands and dark circles underneath their eyes. They looked like shit and the training room looked even worse but despite how exhausted they both were, they welcomed the exchange as comic relief. 

 

When the moment died down, Opal finally continued, “Right, **anyway** , Doctor Sozin was the name that kept coming up. There were company records of paychecks to Sozin. Which means he was working for Red Lotus while they were a company. He has a PhD in neuroscience—“

 

“Which means he was working medical there,” Asami finished for her, the pieces slowly coming together in her mind.

 

“Exactly, and take a wild guess on what he was working on.”

 

“Nanobots,” Asami said, her voice barely above a whisper.

 

_So, he’s the whack job that put these vintage nanobots in my system. That bastard, what was he trying to do?_

 

“But he didn’t start working on nanobots until after the company disbanded. He worked with Red Lotus developing medical tech. He was fired later on for corporate espionage. The dude got greedy, selling their ideas and blueprints to other countries. He even flipped some of their more advanced tech into bioweapons. The media caught on to his betrayal and that’s why Red Lotus, as a company went bankrupt. But Sozin managed to escape authorities when he was being transported to prison. He’s been hiding ever since but he obviously got bored and formed the Red Lotus terrorist group only six months after the company fell.”

 

Asami let out a whistle, “Scary shit. Is there anything else after that?”

 

“Don’t doubt me, Sato,” Opal warned.

 

The CEO chuckled in response, shaking her head with her hands up in the air with mock defeat.

 

“There’s a really long list of illegal transactions for the terrorist group. I even found blueprints for bioweapons, research on nanobots, and a manifesto,” as Opal explained what she found, windows zoomed into view.

 

“Wait, the dude wrote a manifesto?!” 

 

“Yeah,” Opal swallowed, “I read it…”

 

“And?”

 

“I think Red Lotus has a long way to go.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“His manifesto…it’s like a cliche world dominance plan. He has it all laid out and how he’s going to do it. I know this guy’s sadistic but he’s smart and he wouldn’t leave all this just laying around.”

 

“You’re saying that something’s wrong with Red Lotus then? That’s why we were able to find all this? Because he left it for us?”

 

The secretary nodded, “I don’t know what his plans are **exactly** or what’s going on in his head but I don’t think Red Lotus is fully functional.”

 

Confused, Asami’s eyebrows scrunched together as she thought about the thirteen nights they spent searching, hunting, “But all those warehouses and labs…why do you think they’re not fully functional? Come on, there were literally hundreds of Red Lotus buildings!”

 

“No, the larger buildings were the company’s but the smaller ones—especially the labs—were Sozin’s.”

 

“Stop being cryptic, tell me what you did and didn’t find, then we can work together to figure out what we’re gonna do. We’re a team right?” Asami’s voice was stern and commanding but not at all intimidating for Opal who simply new that she was getting impatient by all the indirect answers. But can your really blame Opal? 

 

The hard drives were basically one big jigsaw puzzle for Opal who didn’t mind the extra hard work but there were parts of the hard drives that were completely scrubbed clean and then other parts that contained a lot of information. There was so much that she couldn’t help but wonder that the last lab where they found the bodies were deliberately set up for them. However, Opal pushed her suspicions away. The information was good and it was the first real lead they could follow to finally finish this. She wanted it all to end. No more looking over her shoulder because of the paranoia that would seep into her veins the minute she stepped out of the house. “Right, okay. Remember those nanobots? He's using them somehow to fulfill his plans but then his hard drive has nothing else on it. He must have kept his medical files strictly paper.”

 

“And this is where I come in. Those files? I figured out that the redacted ones were for the company except for one which is throwing me off but I’ll show you that later. Anyway,” Asami stood up from her chair, walking over to the neatly stacked medical files, “these are basically his research.”

 

Opal pointed a finger at the small tower, “I am **not** going to read that, Ms. Sato. I’ve literally spent the whole weekend looking at a computer screen and I’m sure my eyes would go cross-eyed if I have to read anything ever again.”

 

Asami waved Opal away from the table so she could step in and separate the files. The pile to her left was the redacted pile and the pile to her right was the Sozin medical pile. “Don’t worry, I’ll summarize. Just for you,” she winked but her face didn’t turn red at the gesture, not like it did at the party with Korra. No, this was pure friendship.

 

As Opal fell into a fit of laughter, Asami gathered her thoughts on the files, “Okay ready?”

 

Wiping her eyes, Opal gave her a thumbs up.

 

“So I haven't looked through the handwritten doctor notes at the end of each file yet because the typed up pages of info gave me enough to realize what he’s up to. You were right, Sozin is using the nanobots for his plans. According to the typed summaries, I think he was trying to achieve some sort of mind control while also trying to enhance people physically. He started nanobot research twelve years ago, when he had already established the terrorist group.” Asami began to open the files, pointing at certain sections to emphasize her point.

 

Each file had a subject number, a photo, the subject’s mental state and physical attributes and a large red stamp of the word ‘deceased’ marked the first page of every file. She took the first file of the stack: Subject 001 and flipped it open for Opal to see, “This is a man who kidnapped women to sell as sex slaves. He’s subject 001…” She paused to take a breath, “He’s also my very fist assassination target.”

 

“What?!” Opal whirled around to face her with an incredulous look. She gulped as her own brain began to click the pieces together, “What’s the chance that it’s the same for all the other files?”

 

“One hundred percent.” Asami began to open the files to their first pages and although they were relatively thin, they totaled to about twenty and occupied the whole surface of the table. A red stamp was on every one of them. 

 

Obviously, Asami wanted to tell Opal the second she figured it all out but when her secretary was focused on a task, it was best to leave her alone. The sting of the accidental slap she received yesterday after she tried to interrupt her was a small, painful reminder that Opal was never ever to be bothered while she was busy. Even if the slap was on accident, Asami did not want to go through that again.

 

“I thought you had thirty six targets?”

 

Asami hummed her confirmation, “This isn’t all of them and I have a feeling the rest are in a lab somewhere, maybe even their actual headquarters. But I am absolutely positive these are my targets, Opal. All of them. I never forget my targets, trust me. Sozin used nanobots on them and now that I think about it, I feel like every target was a timeline of their progress with the nanobots. At first I didn’t expect the criminals to be super strong but that’s how I got these,” she began to roll up her left sleeve and left pants leg.

 

A thick white line ran from her elbow, snaking around her arm to stop right below the pulse point on her wrist. On her leg was an even thicker white scar starting at just above the knee and running down the length of her leg to her ankle. “After that,” she continued as she rolled down her sleeves, “first target, I invented the suit for protection but it wasn’t enough so I invented nanobots, my nanobots. The cooler ones,” she said, beaming with pride.

 

Opal wasn’t bothered by the CEO’s confidence in her inventions. In fact, she was grateful for them because they saved her life after she so stupidly played with a dangerous weapon, “Basically, your targets were progressively getting stronger?”

 

“Exactly, but they were also getting more innocent.”

 

“Huh? What do you mean?”

 

“Okay, the first target was a criminal, for sure. The later targets—still criminals, duh—but their crimes weren’t so bad. Their nanobot-controlled crimes were an amplified reflection of their normal crimes.”

 

“You are not making any sense, Ms. Sato.”

 

Asami paused to collect her thoughts, to form this in a way that her secretary would understand, “Subject 001, first target. His original crime was kidnapping and selling women as sex slaves. His controlled crime was the same. Back then, I think Sozin was only able to make the nanobots enhance, not control. Jump to…” her eyes scanned the pile, “Subject 23. This man committed petty theft. Purse snatching and all that. But his controlled crime was robbing banks and the homes of citizens. And then jump to Subject 030. This woman was looking at child pornography which is bad all on its own but her controlled crime was kidnapping children and then abusing and raping them. Then the most recent one, Amon: Subject 035. He was a model citizen with just a little bit of depression. When he was a child, his father went crazy and burned down their home. He lost his parents and his brother and gained a nasty scar because of it. I think his weak mind might have given Sozin exactly what he needed to control him. They turned him into a bomber and when Detective Korra killed him, I heard him whisper that he was free. I think they're conscious of what they're doing when they're under control. It's horrible, Opal. All these people were suffering even if they were criminals before the nanobots. I'm sure some of them didn't even want to do it. But all the people they were hurting. Those children I saved, those homes that weren't burned, the hope in their eyes when someone actually cared enough to save them. Opal...I just...I'm so torn. What if what I was doing was wrong? Killing innocent people?"

 

"Ms. Sato, you said it yourself." Opal’s voice was reassuring and it carried all the faith she had for her boss. "You saved these people, the criminals included. In his own way, Amon was thanking you too. You're not the bad guy here, Sozin is. Don't beat yourself up over killing these subjects. If you hadn't, more innocent people would have been hurt, no one would have been saved, and all those children wouldn't have a home right now if it weren't for you."

 

Opal's right. She remembered the looks the people gave her when they were saved from whatever evil they had suffered from. She remembered a certain young boy who had large and watery eyes. They were a bright hazel color but they had been darkened by the abuse he endured. But as soon as she opened the door to the closet that day, his eyes shone the brightest out of all the children. He clung to Asami until they were absolutely safe. She took extra care with this young boy and delivered him to child protection services herself. Under the cover of night of course, she didn't want anyone else to see her in her gear. Over the course of his childhood, Asami would visit him during the night in whatever foster home he was living in at the time. One foster home in particular had suffered the destruction of another Subject so she immediately saved him, killing the Subject as well. The next foster home he found, belonged to none other than Lin Beifong and Asami knew then that he was completely safe with the Chief. She would still visit him every now and then but the child needed to enjoy his own childhood so she only appeared on birthdays and holidays, still clad in her assassin gear and under the cover of night, giving the child her soft green eyes the only clue to her identity. 

 

"There're two things I'm not too sure about," Opal's voice broke Asami's thoughts. "The dead bodies and Subject 000."

 

"Subject 000's whole file was practically redacted," Asami said, reaching for the file that pretty much contained black pieces of paper. “ That’s the redacted file that I couldn’t place as company or Sozin’s. As for the bodies, I have a feeling that they're trying to do something more with the nanobots. Obviously, they got the mind control and the physical enhancements down so the only other solution is that they're trying to push the nanobots further and those bodies were their failed experiments."

 

"I agree," Opal replied, "But you're wrong about 000. For some reason, that's the one medical file that Sozin put on his computer. I think he might have been proud of it or something because he didn't bother to hide it within folders and stuff on his hard drive."

 

"Did you read it?" Asami asked but Opal shook her head, "Alright print it, we'll go over it together."

 

Opal turned to the computer and opened the file. It had the usual typed summary like the other files. The handwritten doctor notes were scanned onto the last few pages of the file. There were two things different with this file: there was no picture which meant no name and no red stamp over the top page which meant that this one was still alive and most likely not one of Asami's targets. Once the pages were printed out, Opal put them together for Asami to flip through and explain to Opal everything on the pages since she was more familiar with the files. 

 

Her hands flipped through the pages until they reached the doctor's notes. But the words that scrawled along the pages made Asami's voice snag in her throat. A familiar scribble of handwriting caused Asami's body to stiffen. Opal noticed right away: Asami’s right fist was curling in on itself, the knuckles turning white. Her left hand gripped the table which groaned under the pressure as her hand lifted to reveal a sizable indent. Damn, Opal had forgotten how strong her boss could be, especially with her nanobots giving her an upgrade.

 

"Uh, Asami?" The secretary hesitantly reached forward to...do what? Comfort her? Slap her back into reality? No, she was fucking scary right now. So instead, she let her hand fall short with absolutely no idea how to approach the genuine anger radiating from her boss. It was nerve wracking: the way her anger seemed to take physical form to tower over Opal, pushing her away with the force of a speeding train. 

 

The anger still towered over Opal as Asami spat her next words, "His handwriting." Her ominous tone sent shivers down Opal's spine. Not like the poor secretary was already cowering under the tower of anger.

 

But Opal was strong so she took a deep breath of courage and questioned, "Whose handwriting?"

 

"My father's."

 

If Opal was scared before then she was truly frightened now. But not because of the tower but because of the mention of Hitoshi Sato. And now, with the news of his involvement with Red Lotus, made all the blood drain from her face.

 

Asami's face, on the other hand, was practically red with fury. The vein in her temple throbbed as she worked her jaw back and forth. The fisted hands sank deeper into the metal table causing a hole to form and the table to bend into a V shape. The files that were on the table began to slide down towards the hole but Asami saw none of that. All she saw was the face of her father who carried no emotion, no remorse when he was arrested. A large part of her seethed with anger but a small part of her, buried deep inside, was hurt and broken.

 

How could her father join this terrorist group? How could he be a part of this sick world domination plan? How could he work on nanobots with Sozin? All these unanswered questions morphed into her anger which then moved back to her questions of why and how. Then those questions fueled her anger again. It was an endless cycle of pain and rage. The stab of betrayal was fresh in her heart. 

 

The file on Subject 000 gave no more information for them. All it provided was Hiroshi's involvement and the other set of handwriting must have belonged to Sozin. The only other bit of information it provided was the success of 000. Sozin's notes talked of how proud he was that the nanobots actually worked. He called 000 'the fortunate one'. There were so many questions left unanswered by this new discovery.

 

_Why was my father working with Red Lotus? Did he invent the nanobots? Sozin's smart but not smart enough to make those nanobots work. But Father was smart enough to do it. How could he be working with them when he should be in prison? How could he let innocent people die? How could he let people do those despicable things? No, Sato. Remember his face when he was getting arrested? Nothing, not a single thing was there. No remorse, no pain, no regret. And what is Red Lotus planning next anyway? All this information is from the past which is good because now we know who we're dealing with but now we don't know what we're going to face._

 

As if Opal could read her thoughts and noticed her slowly dissipating anger, she spoke up, "I know you're upset Asami but I don't think now's the time. We're at a dead end. And I can't find anymore labs or buildings. Either they're hiding even better than before or we've exhausted all of our resources."

 

"Not all of them," Asami said, her mind was slowly clearing, allowing her to come back to reality. "Republic City Police Department."

 

"What?! If they haven't found Red Lotus by now, they won't find them at all. Look, I'll prove it to you," Opal began pressing keys on the keyboard until finally a camera feed of inside the police station streamed into view.

 

Asami stared at the screens, "This is-"

 

Opal sighed, "Illegal? I know, I know. But they won't know it's me, trust me. I'm the master."

 

“Alright, what's the proof or are we just gonna stand here waiting for the cops to knock down the door?"

 

Opal paused to press more keys on her keyboard until the screen filled with what looked like the desktop of someone's computer, "I hacked into the Chief's computer."

 

"Oh my gods, Opal, we're going to jail," Asami laughed nervously. "Hurry up tell me what you found before **we** get found."

 

"Yes ma'am!" Opal teased, "The Chief's computer has all the current findings of the department for any open case. Here's their information on Red Lotus," Opal clicked and leaned back, letting Asami take a closer look. But there was no need to because the screen was blank, except for the word 'Red Lotus' in the top left corner indicating the folder's name. 

 

"Okay, this just proves my point.”

 

"You're either delirious or drunk. I just told you that they haven't found anything."

 

"We feed them information. The simple background of Red Lotus, Sozin's name, and the lab that we found with the bodies. We should show them the Red Lotus symbols that are on the buildings too, maybe they'll be able to find something we may have skipped over," Asami said. She grinned and crossed her arms over her chest, daring Opal to give them a better idea. 

 

"It's kind of genius but also very reckless. If you give them Red Lotus, there might be a chance that they find Hiroshi's involvement and then think you're involved."

 

"If they find a new lab, all we have to do is search it before they get a chance to. You can monitor their progress right?" Asami argued but she knew the answer already. Opal was more than capable of doing something this trivial. 

 

Opal seemed to ponder the idea before giving in to Asami's plan, "Fine. I'll see if they've found anything else. I think I saw a folder on Amon..." she was already faced toward the computer, lost in thought.

 

Asami laughed softly and started to clean up the room. Because of her speed, it only took her a few seconds to turn the room back into its former immaculate state. When she came back from throwing the trash away, she found a pale-faced Opal staring open mouthed at the screen. "Opal? Are you okay?"

 

The secretary shook her head.

 

"Hey, what is it?" Asami said, soothing Opal as much as she could with a soft hand rubbing her arm. 

 

Finally, Opal turned to face Asami, her face wore a look of absolute panic, "Asami..."

 

"What? Come on Opal, just tell me jeez."

 

"They're gonna know. They're gonna know you're the Invisible Hunter."

 

Asami stiffened. How? There's no way..., "my blood. Shit, my blood."

 

A small whimper escaped Opal’s throat, ”You're gonna go to prison, Asami. Or worse, the electric chair. You can't leave the company!" Her eyes were wide, as the realization finally set in. "You can't leave me."

 

Asami's heart sunk to the floor, probably to the Earth's core. She didn't want to leave the company nor did she want to leave her best friend. She had just found a home within her and wanted to be something more with Korra. "Can we do anything?"

 

Opal shook her head, her shoulders trembling while she tried to fight back the sobs, "We can't do anything. For all the hacking and computer shit I can do, I'm so useless with manipulating test results. They don't use electronics to deliver the information, they do it in person to prevent any destruction of evidence."

 

"You're not useless, Opal. Without you, I would have died a month ago. How long do I have?"

 

Opal's swallow was loud in Asami's ears, "After tomorrow, eight days."

 

"How," Asami chuckled, trying to prevent it from turning into a full blown laugh, "do you know the exact number of days?"

 

Opal glared at her boss, "I did the math but only if they follow the schedule that I think they might. I calculated travel time, time of day, weather and came up with eight."

 

"You know what, I don't think I’ve told you this but you're a scary genius, Opal," Asami couldn't hold back the laugh anymore. She laughed so hard her stomach was aching and tears formed in her eyes.

 

Opal stared at her in shock, deciding her boss was definitely crazy, "How can you laugh at this?! I just gave you a timeline with no way to stop it. What're you going to do?" 

 

As Asami calmed down, she said, "We'll make the most of it, Opal. And in the next eight days, I'm gonna train you to take over Future Industries for me."

 

_Good, this is good. Opal won't ever have to know the truth and I'll be arrested anyway. I can put an end to Red Lotus. I can save my city and save the pain of the truth from Opal. She'll take care of Future Industries. The company is hers just as much as it is mine. She helped me rebuild it during my father's betrayal. She can do this. I can do this._

 

"No," Opal shook her head roughly. Tears began to roll down her face, "No, I can't-"

 

"Yes," Asami interrupted her. She took Opal's face in her hands, using her thumbs to wipe the tears from her face. "Yes, you can do this. I know you can do this."

 

As Opal began to sob, Asami's heart broke with each tear rolling down her best friend's face. This was inevitable, she knew that and so did Opal. So they were going to relish this moment and the last few moments they would have together. Opal didn't want Asami to get arrested or worse, sentenced to death and neither did Asami but it couldn't be helped. She made a mistake and didn't get a chance to clean up the blood from her fight with Amon.

 

When Opal's sobs simmered down to sniffles, Asami finally released her from the embrace she didn't realize they had gotten into. Opal chuckled lamely as she wiped the remaining tears from her face. She cleared her throat, "Tomorrow and the next eight days are going to be the best days of your life, Ms. Sato. You're gonna go on that date with Korra. And I swear to you, I'll take care of Future Industries."

 

Asami nodded, her gratitude clear in the look in her eyes. Her own tears started to pool behind her eyes but she willed them back inside, not wanting to show Opal just how scared she was too. "I want to spend the day with Future Industries tomorrow. Plus, I have a bunch of last minute touches to do on the luxury model I'm gonna use on the date."

 

Opal’s eyebrows shot up, ”Whoa, luxury model? You must really like her, Asami."

 

Asami pouted, "What? Psh, no...what makes you say that?"

 

"You hate the luxury models," Opal snickered. "You loathe them. You're only using it to impress Korra."

 

Asami shrugged, "You're not wrong."

 

A quiet, high pitched sound came from the back of Opal's throat. Asami looked at her secretary with concern. But then, Opal opened her mouth and out came an excited squeal. "Asami! That's so fucking cute!"

 

"Opal..."

 

"Nope, you're not my boss anymore. We're equals and oh my god, this is golden. Asami Sato, trying to impress a girl." Another squeal, "Tomorrow, I want to take a picture with you and the luxury model. Don't roll your eyes, Asami. You're going to be arrested in eight—no, nine if you include tomorrow, so for the next week or so, I'm going to document the whole thing. Like a parent who takes a picture of all their child's firsts."

 

Oh god. ”Even the date?"

 

"Even the date."

 

"How are you-"

 

"I have ways, Asami, don't you worry about that. Ooh! I'm gonna caption all the pictures!"

 

"Opal..." Asami's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, "please don't."

 

"Sorry not sorry, Asami. You're not gonna deny your best friend her first real picture with you, are you?” Opal's eyes watered with her pout.

 

And who was Asami to say no to that. She gave in almost immediately, ignoring the determined look Opal gave her. But neither of them missed the pained looks they still wore. The ones that told them they only had nine days of this. The pair sighed every time that realization came back with a vengeance, as if it never wanted them to forget that in about a week, Asami would be in prison and Opal would take over Future Industries.

 

They left the training room, together in a friendly embrace, not wanting to let go of the other. Afraid that their friendship would come crashing down long before the deadline.

 

~~

 

The next morning, Asami spent all day with her employees. She made sure each employee was prepared for the future.

 

For the employees with kids, she gave each family a scholarship fund to be claimed when their children were old enough for college. For employees with pets, she updated their health insurances to include insurance for pets. For her employees' health insurances, she updated it to the best possible so they wouldn't have to pay as much for bills. She gave each employee a slight raise, earning her more trust and love from them.

 

She didn't stop at the people employed at her headquarters. No, she expanded her kindness to all her Future Industries properties. This all happened quietly because she didn't want anyone to suspect anything but she spent more time than usual at the commons. Today was another pizza party and this time, Opal and Asami ate downstairs with everyone else.

 

As the work day came to a close, Asami brought Opal down to her personal workshop who had never stepped foot inside. Once she did though, her breath was taken away by all the models and upgrades Asami had accomplished over the years. The luxury model that Asami finished that day, easily became the best model she had ever created.

 

Opal fished out her camera and positioned Asami properly who wore maroon overalls, with the straps hanging loose on her hips. Her white tank top was stained with oil while her face sported a dark smudge of grease across her cheek. She posed with one hand on the car and the other on her hip and her smile was genuine because she was very proud of her work despite hating the luxury model.

 

The car itself shone brightly with a newly waxed exterior and mirrored the beauty of its creator. Opal's smile was small as she remembered why she was taking the picture. But today had been a good and productive day and damn it, even if it hurt, they would make the most of their remaining days.

 

Besides, tomorrow was Asami's first date with Korra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am also extremely aware that you can't ID someone through their blood, it's not specific enough but it worked for my fiction, sorry! And Asami and Opal pretty much invented everything but I needed that to prove just how much they did for their city. :) 
> 
> Was it bad? I'm trying, I swear! Thank you again, everyone!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story's just about wrapping up! Maybe two more chapters and an epilogue. Thanks for reading!
> 
> TW: Mentions of child abuse and rape.

 

**Present Day**

Her heart's still beating fast. Loud. A drum reciting her existence with every pound. Alive…and happy. God, happy. She never thought it possible. With everything that crumbled around her and everything that threatened to crumble; it couldn't be possible. Asami Sato is never allowed to be happy, to even think about being happy. Simply because she never let herself do it. She isn't depressed, no, but all she ever thinks about is everyone else.  **Protecting**  everyone else.  **Saving**  everyone else.

But blue eyes and defined muscles coupled with a toothy, cheesy grin brought Asami out of her shell where it was once cold, so freezing cold. But now, it's bright and welcoming. And because of such an intrusion in her life, Asami Sato realizes there are people around her who care for her as much as she cares for them.

She had finally found a place with her secretary. A woman she began to trust with her life. And then there were techniques she used to keep her city and herself alive. Techniques taught by Master Sokka. Teachings from him that finally click into her head because her defenses are down; even if they taught her how to build them in the first place. Maybe she shouldn't have isolated herself at all. Maybe she doesn't have to do everything alone.

She has the lessons from Master Sokka, she has friendship with Opal, and now, affections for someone very dangerous.

But…Asami Sato: happy.

Has a nice ring to it.

So she lets go. Takes a leap of faith. No calculations, no preparations. Just a free fall to the end. And damn it, she would make it one hell of an adventure down.

"Where have you been young lady?"

Great. More teasing from Opal.

Asami snorts, "You know exactly where I've been. Don't try to deny that I saw a drone flying in the air with us."

All she receives is a sly grin from Opal.

"Get enough pictures for your creepy 'Asami Sato' photo album?" Asami motions her head towards the stairs, prompting Opal to follow. Even if her heart is still racing, she's tired as fuck. Too many emotions for her to handle in one day: joy with Korra, sadness with Opal, teasing with Opal, hope with the Police Department, excitement in the helicopter. She wants to leave some of those emotions in the clouds where the helicopter hovered only a few hours ago. It's one too many unfamiliar emotions to handle in her personal life.

"Hey! It's not creepy! But yes, yes I did." Another sly grin then…

*Flash!*

"Wha—?!"

"This is gonna be 'Asami Sato After Her Very First Date'!"

Oh god.

* * *

It's day two out of eight and Asami Sato never does lunches. Well, at least she's never done casual lunches. She's never had a best friend before either. But Opal asked. Asami couldn't say no. So they find themselves at a diner, a few blocks away from Future Industries. Opal orders a salad, Asami orders a burger.

Ever the health nut, Opal comments on her food choice, even making a face when Asami asked for the patty to be medium rare.

"I'm hungry. I burn a lot of calories," Asami defends with a shrug, "Besides, if you don't order your meat medium rare, you have no right to eat meat."

She is so enraptured by her food that's currently making its way to their table that she almost doesn't hear Opal mumble.  **Almost**.

"I'm sure you want to burn calories doing something else."

Oh, she definitely heard that because Asami's ears are turning pink and her eyes widen. Opal, however, grins… **knowingly**. That ass—

But as Opal's eyes look up at the window near the entrance, her grin turns into a shit-eating one. Before Asami can ask what's up, the door to the diner swings open and the loveliest of voices practically sings its way into the room.

"One salad, two burgers. To go please."

Oh dear god. What is she doing here?

This is a public place, duh.  _You can't buy the whole building out, Sato!_  Oh, how she wishes she did though. Because Opal's comment drove into her mind, leaving inappropriate thoughts as it skipped away.

Damn hormones.

As the blush from her ears creeps to her cheeks. She shifts in her seat to cross her legs. She thanks whoever is up there for making her a girl right then and there because boy, does  **it**  show.  _Jeez Sato, you've already kissed her, the fuck is wrong with you?!_

"Opal?"

Shit. Fuck. No. Damn it!

Asami looks down at her plate and  _oh, that looks greasy and unhealthy_.  _Oh my god, now you're self-conscious about your food choice?!_

Not that Asami isn't fit. No, of course she is. Fourteen years of martial arts plus a handful or two of assassin training toned her body plus her nanobots gave her strength. Now though, she wishes they gave her another kind of strength because her heart is beating  **hard**.

Wait, no.

Don't use that word.

Loud? Definitely no.

Fast? Nope.

Shit, she's sexually frustrated.

Too lost in the thoughts of a moaning detective performing the adjectives Asami is failing to avoid, she doesn't notice said detective until said detective is standing at the edge of their table, toothy grin in place.

"Detective Korra! Good to see you! What brings you to this side of the city?" Opal beams.

Asami chances a look at Opal and she has a look in her eyes that tells Asami she knows. She knows the answer to that question.  _That sly little asshole set this up!_

The detective shrugs, "Patrolling the area. We're on lunch break and Bolin said this place was pretty good." Korra turns towards Asami then, who's forced to look away from her one-sided glare match with Opal.

Asami's heartbeats sound more like King Kong banging on his chest. She tries to control it but she fails. She shifts her legs.

"Hello, Ms. Sato," Korra says as the ocean meets the forest and it is such a beautiful sight.

Asami has to shift her legs again while also trying to regain adequate amounts of oxygen into her lungs.

"Please, call me Asami. There's no need for formalities," Asami gives Korra her warmest smile. Korra returns it.

Shift.

"So what're you guys up to today?" the detective asks, standing a little awkwardly at the edge of the table.

Asami feels a kick to her shin, "Ow, wha—," but Opal is looking at her with words she thinks say 'scoot over.' So she slides down the booth, "You can sit down, while you wait. If you want," Asami hastily adds.

"Sure!"

Korra smells like the sun, like plumerias at night, like the ocean, like all of Asami's most favorite smells bottled up into one human being.

Shift.

"We're on lunch break too. Things aren't that crazy at Future Industries," Opal starts to explain.

"Actually, we still have quite a bit to do. The factory had some issue about the newest model this morning and we might get out…late…," Asami trails off because Korra, who had been staring at her so adorably and intently, drops her eyes and her grin turns ever so slightly down.

Asami feels her heart sink to the floor because what could have possibly caused such a beautiful smile to fade and turn into something increasingly dull. She looks to Opal who's slightly shaking her head.

_What happened?_

Oh.

_Sato, you stupid fucking idiot._

Before she could fix the damage she caused, the man at the counter calls Korra's name who then shoots out of the booth as quickly as she arrived.

_Damn it._

Korra collects her food and turns to walk away but seems to decide on something else. She turns back to the CEO and the secretary, "Have a good day." The toothy grin is back but it doesn't quite match the detective's eyes.

"You're an idiot," Opal says as soon as Korra is gone.

Yeah, she was.

"I just—I don't—I was thinking about how I had so much left to teach you before the deadline," Asami finally decides to admit.

"No, you weren't thinking at all, dumbass."

One of Asami's fries leaves her plate and lands against her face, courtesy of Opal. Asami slumps deeper into the booth, defeated, and she doesn't shift her legs anymore.

"Do you not see when someone's trying to find out if you're too busy for a date?"

Asami cringes. Yep, she's a big fucking oblivious fool.

A big sigh leaves Opal's lips, "Okay, I'm gonna tell you this once:  **do not**  put me before Korra. She deserves as much of your time as I do. So here's what we're gonna do: you're gonna cozy up to Korra. Actually talk to her. You're gonna ask her out tomorrow and the day after that and for every day until the deadline. Your mornings and afternoons are going to be with me and Future Industries but you're going to leave the evenings to Korra. Besides, we both know that I'll be able to handle the company. I've been with you every step of the way, Asami."

"Why not ask her out today?"

"Because your dumbass needs to apologize first and we actually do have a problem at the factory."

"Asshole," Asami mutters, earning her another flying fry. This time she catches it with her mouth.

A date with Korra. A few dates, actually. Where should they go? But Asami already has an idea and with what little time she has left, she's going to put every ounce of herself into the dates. Harmony Day is the day after tomorrow and maybe, just maybe fireworks would be a great start.

Shift.

* * *

Whenever Asami texts anyone, it's for business and it's usually blunt. Even on her personal phone with Opal. Majority of the time though, it was their usual banter:

Take out the trash tonight.  _Then you clean the training room_.

Move night or game night?  _Movie night_!

Can I play with a kunai?  _No_.

Can I drive around the racetrack?  _Do you know how to drive stick?_  No.  _Then no._

 _How do you work this damn computer?!_  Omg, Asami.

Can you pick these up on the way home? _Oh god, Opal, it's all vegetables!_  It's healthy for you. No eggs and top ramen!  _Fine, but I'm not buying cabbages…ever._

It was so…domestic and friendly. She never had a roommate so Asami welcomes the domesticity with open arms and a laugh escaping her lips.

Texting Korra, however, feels a lot like she's in high school again where she never dated anyone, of course. But that didn't stop the boys or girls from flirting with her or from her flirting back.

It's how anxious she feels when she apologizes profusely for genuinely being busy today and Korra's reply of 'I understand' with a big smiling emoji that looks oddly like her toothy grin.

Or how she grins stupidly at her phone because Korra sends a winky face emoji along with a 'I'm glad I saw you again today.'

Or later on that day, how her heart is pounding as she sends Korra the picture Opal took of the luxury model, starring Asami Sato with a 'look familiar?'

Then Korra's reply of 'Hmm, maybe the car but I can't tell. There's a gorgeous woman distracting me.'

All this has Asami wearing a copy of Opal's shit-eating grin throughout the work day. She finds herself checking her phone literally every minute until a text from Opal wiped all giddiness away.

**[Opal, 6:32PM]: Police department found a lab. Get to the loft ASAP.**

* * *

"Where's it at?" Asami asks, already clad in her suit with her hands twitching on the steering wheel.

"It's programmed into your Satomobile. You're gonna have to be fast and quiet. The police are about to head over there," Opal's voice filters through the earpiece, a faint tapping of keyboard keys in the background.

Asami arrives at the new lab quickly, probably ten minutes ahead of the police. She parks on another street, away from view and quickly climbs up to the low rooftops. The sun had set and the moon is starting to take its place, giving her a blanket of darkness. Truly living up to the name they call her, Asami expertly jumps across the handful of buildings until she was on top of the lab. A pick of the lock opened the skylight in a second.

As if the formaldehyde and putrid smell took physical form, it slammed into Asami as soon as she opened the skylight with more power and vigor than the last time. She should've brought a gas mask. Why didn't she learn the first time? She really, really should've brought a mask. Knowing what came with the smell causes her to fully use her enhanced speed.

The lab is larger and still contains the cabinets, the drawers, the computers, the sinks, the…super large computer and offices? That's new.

Asami takes everything she can: more files, more hard drives (especially from the large computer), a leather bound book from what looks like a boss's office, and a vial of liquid that looks a lot like the black, ugly liquid that coated the corpses from before. Just as she was closing the skylight, the police arrive with Mako, Korra and Lin leading the pack.

She should leave. But Asami finds her eyes fixated on short brown hair, the way defined muscles press against the tightness of a white button-up shirt, the way blue eyes were sparkling with excitement but also caution because her gun was out and…what was she doing?

Oh. They had gas masks.

Asami's an idiot…for the second time that day.

At least they learned their lesson from the first lab Opal fed to them.

Again, she should probably leave.

Asami perks her super sensitive ears to the floor to hear the commotion inside as the police break down the door. They're searching but they would probably find almost nothing except the dead bodies. The smell begins to grow thicker, stronger; they must've opened the metal doors. Then Korra speaks up. It's slightly muffled because of the mask and the fact that Asami's listening through the roof, "Bodies are really messed up, just like last time."

"We'll get them to the medical examiner," comes a reply from an unknown source.

"Jesus, what're they doing to them?" Mako's voice. Yes, what  **was**  Red Lotus doing?

"Is there anything else?" Gruff and commanding. Definitely Lin.

"No. Wait! There's a hard drive here!" Hey, it's not like Asami could've gotten all of them. It would've easily taken three trips to get every single thing.

"Another one here!"

The police force begin to collect any hard drive they can find.

After a few moments of ordering officers around, Mako speaks up, "Asami Sato, huh?" She should really leave now.

"What about her, Mako?" Korra's voice. Definitely music to her ears.

"Just that," a pause. Asami imagines him making a face. Probably an ugly one. His face is ugly anyway. She holds back her snort, "Be careful. Around her I mean."

_What?!_

"The hell are you talking about, Mako?"

"Well, her dad is Hiroshi Sato." Asami's shoulders tense. She should have left, she doesn't even want to fathom the next words out of Korra's mouth. Too many people in the city have treated her differently and it took them years to trust her again. Any hope and happiness she wanted to have with Korra begins to fade away, her heart along with it.

"You think she'll end up like her dad?" Mako must have nodded because Korra continues, "Well, she won't."

"But you can't know for sure!"

"Jesus, Mako! She's not her dad!"

Asami has to stop herself from abandoning the roof and busting through the skylight to capture those lips into hers. Now that's a target she wouldn't mind taking down.

"Have you not seen what she's done with the city?!  **And**  she wasn't even twenty one yet when she got onto the Fortune 500 list or when everyone named her 'the youngest, most successful CEO alive.' She donates billions of yuans,"  _only one or two_ , "to charities and she's never asked for anything in return."

Asami imagines the defeated look on Mako's face. Her heart pounds against her chest and her ears ring because Korra is defending her. Someone is defending her. No one's ever defended her. Or at least if anyone has, she's never heard it in person. The feeling of self consciousness rises in her throat, tasting like bile. She's always been confident and strong with obvious compassion for her company and her city. But a dark skinned detective started a war within Asami. Contradicting everything she's taught herself to believe in: love is a distraction; focus on your surroundings; train your body; if you have an advantage, use it, keep it.

But this woman, this damn detective is a thief who stole the queen's prized possessions and now the queen ordered every subject of her land to bring back the thief; treasure included of course.

She has to stop herself from jumping around the roof like a happy teenage girl or else they'll know she's up there. "Alright, we're done in here. Let's check the rest of the place. Mako and I will go up to the roof." Korra says.

Asami really, really needs to leave now.

She gathers her findings and leaves the rooftops, clearing two buildings right before Korra and Mako open the door to the roof. Was that stalking? She probably shouldn't have listened to all that.

"What took you so long?" Opal asks once she's securely in her car and driving away.

"Nothing," she replies too quickly.

"Mhmm." Asami hears the smirk through the earpiece.

"Shut up, asshole."

* * *

"The lab was huge, Opal! The metal doors with the dead bodies were there too. More than the first lab. Too many," Asami mutters. She shivers as black holes and silent screams flash into her mind.

Opal's eyes grow soft, "I'm sorry you had to go through that, Asami."

She rolls her shoulders to stand straighter, to not show any more weakness. Asami Sato is fine or at least she would be, as soon as this mess was over. But then again, she'd be in jail after it was over, wouldn't she? Or she would just be...her shoulders slump back down and it would've been hilarious for Opal because it looks like some weird, delayed shrug but her best friend is obviously distraught. Asami then settles for a straight posture again, "I'm fine."

Opal doesn't push it further because it might open the wounds that had just been made three days ago. The deadline is creeping up on them like the sun peeking over the horizon. Inevitable but the light the sun would create as it rose would be invigorating: exactly how Asami wants to spend the next week.

The two fall into a quiet but effective rhythm, splitting the work as they go. Opal, of course, cracks into the hard drives and Asami flips open the first page of a file. The hard drives have the same information, more or less. But with a common theme in their findings: Hiroshi's involvement. In every file on nanobot subjects is Hiroshi's handwriting. On every hard drive there are office notes addressing Hiroshi about the nanobots. It angers Asami even more but she learns to control it this time. She pushes away the harsh feeling to figure out what was going on.

Hiroshi Sato joined Red Lotus when he was twenty one and with his current age, it meant that he was working for Red Lotus as a company. He helped create majority of the technology they distributed. When Sozin's scandal was made public, Hiroshi dove into building and expanding Future Industries. There's no information on him during his hiatus from Red Lotus. But then the information picks up again, except this time he was with the Red Lotus terrorist group and reunited with Sozin.

Both women pray that the hard drives the police found don't contain this information or else all eyes will be set towards Asami. Then again, Opal could just work her magic and hack into their computers to control the information.

_He must have known, right? Known that he was working for a terrorist group. Working with a sadistic doctor?_

Right.

Because he was a father who held Asami with caring arms, cradling his greatest invention. He was a father who brought his daughter to the workshop, taught her how to build, how to create with her tiny bare hands. He was a father who beamed with pride on an excellent grade or who cheered her on during her martial arts tournaments. He was a father who looked into the eyes of her mother with the same love and devotion he had for his daughter, if not more.

He was a father who held onto a delicate hand as her mother's last breath left her opened lips. He was a father with tears falling down his cheeks as he closed the eyelids of the love of his life. He was a father whose hands were shaking violently as he took a small rolled up towel and ever the gentleman, attempted to close the open mouth of her mother but consistently failed because it just kept falling open, again and again in a silent cry.

He was also a father who turned away from Asami, his eyes seeing too much of the woman he fell in love with in his daughter. He was a father who on two good days, let her cry in his arms (months after the fact because he realized all they had were each other). But he was also the father who distanced himself further away from her, giving in to his sorrow.

He was a father she had looked up to but he became a father that decided to bring destruction with the hands that once created, that once held her, that once gripped tightly to the dying form of her mother, willing her back to life.

Asami doesn't bother to question the morality of her father anymore. It was gone. It left the moment he allowed grief to consume him and then he was arrested which left her to fend for herself. It was a cruel world for an eighteen year old to live in, to fight in. She survived though, making her better and stronger. She made it.

When she lost her mother at the age of ten and cried herself to sleep every night after that, her father came to hold her only twice. But it took months for him to even come around. After the second time, he drifted further. She learned her lesson and ran away, wanting to escape the sorrow that choked the Sato estate.

It was then that Master Sokka found her, a small ten-year-old girl on the streets with eyes too tired and too dry from too much crying. He shouldn't have taken the young girl in, he probably should have tried to track down her parents. But he saw his own grief of his own losses mirrored in the eyes of the young girl. He wanted to take that grief away because a girl this young shouldn't know what death is, know what that pain feels like. He wanted to help her, show her kindness, let her know compassion because she obviously hadn't experienced such feelings since her loss.

But the world was cruel and offered no such thing. So damn it, he'd try as much as he could to do it. He took her in as his own. He didn't even ask for her name but when the news had reported a missing CEO's daughter (the same age as the young girl), he knew then who she was and he had to give her back even if it pained them both. He returned her to the Sato estate, finally learning the first name of the young girl. She made him promise to come back, to be her...friend. And even Master Sokka said she needed friends her own age but the girl shook her head, "No one wants to be my friend." It broke his heart.

This young girl, who was so vibrant and full of life around him, was incessantly attacked by the rest of the world. He would come back, he promised. And under the guise of her new martial arts teacher, he visited Asami every day. But she was a fast learner, having practiced martial arts her whole life, so he taught her his assassination techniques. Unconventional, he knew but it was another excuse to be around the girl, who was growing up too fast. They didn't even have to hide her assassin training for her father's absence was constant, almost as if he never existed in the first place which didn't really bother her, not by much anyway. He taught her everything he knew, making sure she didn't abuse her abilities for immoral intentions. He had taught her well, almost enough to surpass him as an assassin.

When she was sixteen, right after she started high school, Master Sokka grew sick and she never knew the cause. He wouldn't tell her. It was old age, probably. But with his last dying breath, he smiled and thanked her. This time, the loss was not as sad as it should have been. They respected each other and both knew the pain of loss. So she thanked him while she spread his ashes out at the edge of the sea, back to the water that was as fluid as he taught her to be.

His loss was not heavy but it still hit her. As she cried the next night, her heart wailed along with her. After that, she steeled herself not to cry for Master Sokka, not to mourn his departure because he had lived his life to the fullest until he breathed his last. That thought alone gave Asami joy: a reason to celebrate not mourn.

When her father betrayed her, it hurt just as much as the loss of her mother. She shouldn't have felt that though, considering he let grief consume him. And when she was left to fend off the world by herself, she was prepared, all thanks to Master Sokka.

"Asami, I'm going to crack into the hard drive from that big computer you found," Opal says, breaking the CEO's thoughts, "Maybe it'll tell us where Red Lotus is hiding."

Asami gives Opal a nod, picking up the vial of black liquid and turning to a microscope. She opens the vial and very carefully, uses a pipette to take out a sample. She makes a wet mount slide, places it onto the stage of the microscope, and flips it on. Patient as ever, Asami starts at the lowest power in the objective lens until she finds a piece she can focus on. Already at this power, she knows something is wrong. Switching the objective lens to a higher power and refocusing on the object, she turns to Opal, "Take a look at this."

"What. The. Fuck?" Opal murmurs as she uses the knobs on the stage to move the sample around. "What do you think this means?"

"Well, I don't know much about hematology or human anatomy but I do know nanobots. You can't see them with this basic microscope but I know that's a nanobot solution," Asami says.

Opal peers through the lens again, "You think we should take a look at this with a powerful microscope? Where would we even find one?"

Asami smirks and is already out the door, keys in hand, leaving a confused Opal scrambling to follow. They reach Future Industries and gather their things to bring inside. The night guards give the two a small nod as they bypass security with no complaints.

In the elevator, Asami punches the numbers of floors as if it were a keypad until a hidden panel slides into view. Opal gapes at the CEO's nonchalance who proceeds to have her eyes scanned, her fingerprints read, and her voice recognized.

"You're like a spy," Opal whispers, afraid any volume louder than such would raise an alarm.

Asami chuckles, "No, just very meticulous in where I keep the secret, expensive stuff."

The elevator whirs to life, after confirming that it is truly Asami in the elevator. They plunge deeper, lower than the lobby floor.

It continues, lower and lower and—, "Uh, Asami? How far does this go?" Opal says, gulping.

"Mmm, well it's about a hundred feet or so underground," Asami shrugs, "Another minute or two? Just kidding, maybe five."

The elevator finally comes to a halt and the doors silently slide open. Asami strides into the vast area like she's walking into the loft, feeling completely at ease. Opal, on the other hand, has her jaw literally to the floor as she takes in her surroundings.

The underground lab is built into a cave, yet there are no obvious signs of a rock wall. Instead the walls of the lab are lined with clean, grey marble walls. At the end of the lab is a single glass wall, giving an excellent view of a man-made waterfall, complete with beautiful greenery. A large office occupies the front left corner of the room which sports all glass windows for its occupant to see below them. Along the left wall are a couple rows of high tech computers. In the middle, there's a very large circular table where Asami dumps the few samples she brought from the loft. The right wall is lined with TVs, pictures, framed accomplishments and awards and a bar… **a damn bar**.

"Jeez, Asami, what is this place? Your freaking bomb shelter?"

Asami raises an eyebrow at Opal until she realizes where she's staring, "Uh, kind of? There's more to this than just this area. So yeah, I guess you could say it's my bomb shelter. It's more like my lab slash bomb shelter slash panic room. Every elevator in Future Industries can reach down here, you just have to know the code."

Opal's eyes are bright as she continues to look around, "This place is…awesome!"

Asami beams, "I knew you would love this place. It's fitted with triple redundancy cables and a fiber optic network. I use two submarine engines as a backup power generator. There's a training room, a kitchen, and a game room here too. I even built this with enough rooms for everyone and their families in Future Industries, just in case, you know…something happens."

Opal shakes her head, incredulous to the fact that Asami built this not only for herself but for the employees in Future Industries too. Asami Sato is truly a selfless woman. "So, where's the microscope?"

The corner of the CEO's lip curls, she turns to the large table and places her hand on an empty space. The table lights up and a number pad appears. Once she enters two sets of numbers, Asami whirls around to face her best friend, her smirk growing wider and wider.

For a moment, nothing happens and Opal is about to ask what's going on until a loud whirring sound fills the quiet space. The whole room seems to tremble as the large glass window at the end of the lab darkens to look like a screen and the area in front of it has its floor stripped away creating a black, endless void. That is, until a huge metal box slowly ascends into view. The whirring and the trembling stop once the metal box is in full view and securely in place.

"You're fucking ridiculous, you know that?"

Asami roars with laughter, knowing full well that her best friend is entirely jealous of her secret lab. Opal slaps Asami's arm, "That's for not telling me about this sooner. You owe me one, Sato."

Asami's mirth never fades away as she takes the sample and walks to the electron microscope. It takes her a few minutes but she finally has the focus and power she needs. She displays the view of the microscope onto the glass wall-turned-monitor. Walking up to it, she takes a long stick and reaches up to point out a spot in the sample. The area in question houses hundreds of white spherical nanobots that seem to be moving and twisting its shape. They expand, contract, replicate, morph into something spider-like, and combust but puts themselves back together; all of this happens simultaneously among each different nanobot. The pair are able to tell that they're crude and evil just by watching what the nanobots are doing.

Opal studies the screen awhile longer. Finally, she speaks up, "It's like they're a cancer, a virus, a bacteria, and enhancement all in one nanobot. I have no idea how they got this to work on the human body—wait…"

"The dead bodies!" The two exclaim in unison while a shudder collectively rolls down their spines.

"Okay, so, it didn't work. They're trying to do something with these nanobots and judging by the body count, it's not working," Asami ponders. "When I invented the nanobots for me, I made them out of graphene. I wanted them strong but also porous so it could have strength and healing capabilities."

"Makes sense," Opal says, "all you wanted to do was enhance your strength and your healing. And when you enhance your strength, you're enhancing your muscles which makes you move faster as well. Do you think that's what Red Lotus did for Amon?"

"Yeah, maybe. He had super speed and strength but that was after he injected himself with the nanobots. So, Red Lotus's nanobots are fast-acting while mine gradually enhance over time. That's why you're slowly getting stronger but I'm still going to be stronger than you because I've had my nanobots in me longer, plus repeated treatments with my nanobots are another bonus. When I invented the nanobots, I didn't want the body to rely on them so I made them to where they exit the body through the renal system within the next ten years or so."

With basic knowledge of human physiology, Opal asks, "Does the body even recognize your nanobots as foreign?"

Asami nods vigorously, "They're so small that the body mistakes it as one of the few ions the body filters through the kidneys."

"Jeez, Sato. CEO, assassin, ninja, cutthroat business woman, and now a professor in biology? What's next? The Nobel Peace Prize?"

Rolling her eyes, Asami retorts, "No, but saving the world sounds good."

The atmosphere dives into a grave filled with fear. The Red Lotus's acid cloud still looms over Republic City, threatening to spill at any moment. Asami's words kick the women back to reality, determined to do whatever it takes to keep their city safe, including solving the task at hand.

"Okay," Opal muses, peering up at the screen again. "Red Lotus creates fast-acting nanobots so that means they attack the human system viciously."

Asami dips her chin in agreement, "When I was fighting Amon, he whispered 'thank you.' I think this is why Subjects are in pain. It wasn't just controlling them, it was hurting them too, breaking them down until they were bones. Just like the ones in the lab. But for the Subjects I took down and Amon, it seemed to work slowly. Maybe because they were only injected with the nanobots temporarily while those bodies were doused in the black liquid. I think they perfected the strength aspect of their nanobots, so they must make them out of carbon or osmium."

"Structure determines function," Opal says as if she's quoting it right out of an anatomy and physiology textbook.

A light bulb switches on in Asami's mind, "I think I know what they're doing. Come on, let's go back to the loft and search the rest of our findings."

"Why can't we do it here?" Opal whines, "It's so  **awesome**  down here!"

Asami laughs, "Did you bring that hard drive with you?"

"Noo…"

"Then we go back," the mirth returns to Asami's features while she listens to Opal's grumbling about how unfair it was that her boss had a secret lab under her feet this whole time.

* * *

The hard drive from the large computer is one of the toughest ones for Opal to crack into. It'll take her a week, she explained and Asami's more than okay with it. It just means she can take a break, muse on her discovery and focus on her dates while Opal is too busy to stalk her on her dates.

"I'll still be able to, you know," Opal murmurs, not taking her eyes from her work.

"What?"

"Take pictures of your dates," she turns around, green eyes vivid with excitement matching the knowing look on her face, "I have ways, Sato."

Great.

"You owe me anyway, Asami."  _True_. "I'm gonna take so many pictures, that one photo album isn't going to be enough. It'll never be enough," she whispers the last part like it was some great secret. Except she's whispering to the subject of said photo albums and said subject is already embarrassed enough.

"Did you ask Detective Korra out yet?"

"No, but we've been texting."

Opal snickers, "What're you fifteen?" Opal ducks a flying pencil, "Ask her out, you idiot. It's been two days."

"I just..."

"Oh my god!" Both of Opal's hands fly up to her face to clutch it dramatically, "Asami Sato are you nervous?"

"No," but the blush on Asami's face betrays her.

Her best friend turns around, taps a few keys and with one final exuberant tap, she whirls around with a wide grin on her face. It happens so fast that Asami thought for a second the nanobots had given her super speed too, "Well, you've got a date tomorrow night."

_What?!_

"Do you know what you're gonna do? Do you know what you're gonna wear? Oh my god, what're you gonna do with your hair? And your makeup!" Opal is already off ranting as if she's the one going on the date and not Asami.

"Wait, wait! What do you mean I have a date?!"

Opal shrugs, "I hacked your phone."

"You're insufferable," Asami groans through her hands holding her face.

"You love me."

"You're an asshole."

* * *

It's the third night out of eight and Asami Sato is nervous. Asami Sato never gets nervous. Yet here she is, pacing back and forth on the second story of her loft, wringing her shaking hands together. At least she has a plan. Maybe not a very good plan but it's a plan. It's structured and it is a guideline, something Asami can follow with precision to prevent her from doing anything stupid. Asami Sato can do this.

She can't do this. Especially when she picks up Korra tonight. Who, by the way, is wearing tight black jeans with a rolled up denim shirt with the top two buttons unbuttoned which are doing  **things**  to the CEO. Her short brown hair frames her face perfectly along with the toothy grin that seems to pull Asami further and further towards her. She can't do this because stupid teenage hormones are filling every organ in her body.

It's a simple date, really, and a quick one at that because Korra has to work early the next day and Asami is still preparing for Opal's take over.

The ride isn't dead silent like Asami had feared. Once Korra is in the car, she immediately strikes conversation about Future Industries or the one time Korra saved a man who sold cabbages on the side of the street from some gang members. Or how she gave the cabbage man a ticket for operating without a business license.

Asami pulls up to the driveway of her loft, parks the car and gets out. Korra follows closely behind but stops in her tracks when she sees the view of the ocean and part of the city below her. Asami's loft is built atop a hill that overlooks the city. It faces the ocean and a man-made staircase built into the side of the hill leads down to the docks. Her driveway on one side, runs along the coast and a walk down it would give the perfect view for what lays ahead of them. The sun is low, ready to meet the horizon. The clouds in the sky catch some of the suns rays as they beam towards them. It's a wonderful shade of orange, yellow, and red; all mixing together to form a stunning palette.

"This is...beautiful," Korra breathes. The sun shines against her bright blue eyes, drawing Asami in to revel at the sight before her.

Asami has to agree, yes, this is beautiful. Korra is beautiful. Korra is  **always** beautiful. But she keeps it to herself because she feels like that would be a cliché move. Instead, she hides her blush and tilts her head towards the other side of the hill, "Come on, I want to show you something."

She leads them to the back of the loft where the slope of the hill begins to descend, allowing them to overlook her backyard. The smell of gasoline fills the air but the backyard is silent. This is her private race track that she usually drives on when she's upset or wants to test a new model of a Satomobile.

Korra's eyes widen at the sight. She looks like she's about to jump up and down in place. Asami chuckles, "Wanna go for a spin?"

"Hell yeah I do!" The two women run down the hill to the pit where two pristine race model Satomobiles sit waiting for them. "Let's make a bet."

Asami quirks a brow. Does Korra know that she makes these cars for a living so obviously she's going to be extremely good at driving? But Korra seems to not remember because she only nods vigorously at the quirked brow. Asami laughs, "Fine, if I win, you have to let me take you to Harmony Day tomorrow night."

Korra smirks, "If I win, you're going surfing with me."

Asami widens her eyes. Yes, she is a CEO. Yes, she can build cars. Yes, she can drive cars exceptionally well. Yes, she admires the ocean and the peace it sometimes gives her. But being on open waters with nothing but a piece of wide plastic to keep you afloat?  **Hell no**. She must be making some kind of horrified look because Korra's laughing and it only seems to fuel her to win even more.

Wait, no, she  **is**  going to win this. She built these cars and drove them herself on multiple occasions. She knows where she could push the limits of the car. She knows every turn of this racetrack. Oh, she's got this.

"You're on."

* * *

She wins.

"Harmony Day isn't that bad, Korra!" She has to fight the giggles that threaten to bubble out of her throat because Korra is making the cutest pouting face ever. It's adorable and she wants to etch the image of a pouting Korra permanently in her mind.

"I've never been," Korra all but mumbles, like it's a sin that she's never been to Harmony Day.

Well, it kind of is because who's never been to Harmony Day? No one. It's the biggest festival of the year, complete with fireworks, carnival games and rides and it takes place at the boardwalk at the bottom of the hill Asami's loft is built on. Apparently, Korra visits her parents every year around the time of Harmony Day but this year they were off on vacation somewhere and didn't want Korra to intrude.

"Well, I'll make your first Harmony Day an unforgettable one."

Asami smiles the smile that's meant only for Korra but falters when Korra smirks and replies with, "I'll show you something unforgettable."

This woman would be the end of Asami or rather, she needs to get her mind out of the gutter.

Nevertheless, she's happy that she's able to spend time with Korra. She's grateful Opal hacked her phone because god forbid, she'd never have the same courage that spurred her during the helicopter date. Although, technically, she did prepare herself for that one date for two weeks so she had ample time to get her nerves together. Now though, she only has five days left. Part of her knows that she's going to betray Korra but she doesn't want to think about what's ahead.

She thinks about this moment, this exact moment where she's dropping off Korra at her apartment and the woman leaves with a soft kiss to her cheek. This moment where she just can't stop smiling the whole way to her car. This moment where she swears she hears the click of a camera but couldn't care less because maybe, just maybe she wants to be able to look back and remember this.

* * *

Opal teases her once she gets home, showing her pictures of their date. Asami wonders just how and when did Opal find the time to print the pictures and place them into the album, complete with captions, all within the time frame of her date. Some pictures look unfeasible for the photographer to take because some angles looked like there was no place for an Opal-sized person or drone to hide. It doesn't matter though because as she flips through the pages, wonderful memories begin to flood to the surface.

One is a picture of them standing at the top of the hill. They're staring out below them and Korra has her hand excitedly pointed downwards in some vague direction. But Asami knows exactly where she was pointing: it was a small house. Korra explained that was where a family adopted a young girl who was hiding in a basement with a bunch of other kids. Korra didn't mention that the man who hid those children was found dead upstairs with a large red gash through his throat.

But Asami knew exactly who's house it was: the house where a family adopted one of the children she had saved from a man who had abused and raped them. A man who was a Subject, controlled by nanobots. She didn't tell Korra that, of course, but she smiled at the fact that the detective had been the one to get the children to safety.

Another one was when Asami had won the race and Korra was pouting in the most adorable way. She didn't think that Korra could get any more adorable but she did. She definitely did. And she was surprised to see not only Korra radiating with happiness from her whole body but Asami too, who was smiling and laughing and just looking downright happy.

It was weird seeing herself enjoy so much of life when in reality, she would keep herself away from real human connection. Any personal relationships were absent from her life because everyone around her, everyone that she loved, either betrayed or left her. She has always been so guarded but this one picture shows an unguarded Asami. An Asami who stopped worrying about what the future might hold, who believed that she could love and be loved in return without the fear of their death or their betrayal. An Asami who believed that she could find happiness in not only Future Industries but from another human being and who believed that what she's feeling might just be right.

Asami falls asleep that night with a beautiful smile tattooed onto her face. Her dreams are filled with the success of Future Industries, the moments she's shared with her best friend, and  **Korra**.

A lot of it was Korra.

Her dark skin and toothy grin, her bright eyes and soft sighs, her strong arms and adorable charms, her competitive side and the blushing she tries to hide. Everything is Korra in her dreams. She thinks maybe she might have let go too soon because she feels herself falling for the detective.

She can't do it though, not yet and at least not completely because she's hanging onto a rock just off of the side of the symbolic cliff. She's stopped herself from making that penultimate journey down. That rock is her identity as the Invisible Hunter. That rock is the betrayal she knows will affect Korra just as much as it'll affect her. That rock is the only thing stopping her from voicing her feelings to Korra. That rock is all her training and aloofness she's mastered over the years. That rock is the protection she built for herself and now it feels like it's the protection she's building for Korra too.

But she knows she's losing her grip on that rock because she's held on for so long and there is nothing she wants to do about it.

* * *

It's the fourth night out of eight. Tonight is Harmony Day which is the biggest festival of the year and that's saying a lot, considering Republic City takes any excuse to throw a party. But Harmony Day is different. It's a day where every man, woman, child, pet and hell, even the fish from the harbor come to experience. It's a day for celebration: the day Republic City became Republic City and Republic City knows how to throw a festival.

It starts a few hours before the sun sets and continues until the sun rises. Since it's at the boardwalk, food vendors from around the city—even from some neighboring cities too—set up shop all along the wooden pathway. Artists, dancers, magicians, and musicians dot every inch of the boardwalk and the sidewalks. There are carnival games and rides at the very end, complete with a Ferris wheel and that one ride that shoots vertically into the air (that one always makes Asami sick).

Asami invites Opal because they're practically living together. Besides, no one misses out on Harmony Day. So the date turns into a double date, well it's more like a double date plus the fifth-wheeler, Mako. But Asami doesn't care, she's too focused on the fact that Korra slips her hand into hers the second they make eye contact and they're two feet away from each other. She'd be lying if she said that the action wasn't making her heart race. It is, just to clarify. She swears that Korra is skating her thumb across her hand on purpose because it's causing her neurons to tell her heart to beat faster because a gorgeous woman is holding her hand.

She feels like an awkward teenager again.

Asami watches Korra as she finally sees the festival. Her eyes are wide and she's looking everywhere in order to take it all in. It's only after she looks like she's going to get whiplash that Asami grabs her face, holds it in place and says, "Before you hurt yourself, what do you want to do first?"

Korra's face takes on a red hue.

Why is she blushing? What could possibly... _oh_.

Her face is close to Korra's.  **Really**   **close**  to Korra's. So close that she's breathing Korra's air and their noses are almost touching. Korra blinks down to her lips, stares for maybe a second too long then back up again to her eyes.

Asami doesn't know why it's so hard to just close the distance. Why is it so hard to just move a little forward and...she blinks. She remembers. She remembers the first time they kissed and how charged it was, how it was so full of sexual tension. But it was just that: sexual tension. Sure, Korra's vulnerability spurred the moment because the compassion in Asami crumbled at the open book in front of her. Yet, the open book was filled with strong words that made the detective. The puzzle that was Detective Korra intrigued her and pulled her in in the first place. But now, she has feelings,  **real** feelings for Korra. And her deadline is looming over her head, pouring her worries of her oncoming betrayal like her own personal rain cloud.

"Food," Korra manages to say. Her voice is raspy and shaky, causing the CEO's mouth to dry. Asami finally lets go, only to realize that Opal had taken a picture, Mako was looking anywhere else but at them, and Bolin was biting his knuckles to withhold the high pitched squeal starting at the back of his throat. Asami blushes and all but drags Korra away from the group towards a random food stand.

Asami hastily orders the first item she sees on the menu: sushi burritos. What? Is that even a thing? She moves them to the side where people are waiting for their food. Korra still hasn't said anything but she's scratching the back of her head while shuffling her feet across the wooden planks. If Asami wasn't currently blushing herself, she'd find the action extremely adorable.

When their number gets called, Asami collects their food continuing to put more distance between themselves and the group that seems to have collectively smothered knowing grins on their faces. As they come to a stop on the side of the boardwalk, she takes a look at her surroundings.

The ocean is moving underneath them, beating against the poles of the boardwalk. Surfers are out trying to catch the last waves before the dark settles in. There are families who chase their kids into the ocean, worried about their safety. To her right, there's a woman with dark brown hair expertly playing a guitar and a blonde woman painting the setting sun to her left.

Asami is so enamored by the painting because it looks so real and beautiful that she doesn't realize Korra's biting into the sushi burrito. She doesn't realize until Korra lets out an ungodly moan at the first bite. Asami turns to the woman with wide eyes, missing the way the brunette and the blonde smirk at each other.

"Uh, uhm," Asami stammers, "that good?"

Korra nods an enthusiastic 'yes'. Asami doesn't know what comes over her but she leans in close, keeping eye contact with Korra as she takes a bite of Korra's food. She lets out her own moan because yes, it's really that good. Who knew sushi burritos could change your life? Actually, Korra could change your life but this sushi burrito comes in close for second.

Once their food is finished and Korra leaves to throw their trash away, Asami turns to the blonde who has finished her painting of the sunset, leaving it to dry on the side and is already halfway through another one.

"Hi," Asami smiles as she reaches into her purse for her wallet, "can I buy that one from you?" She gestures to the sunset painting.

The blonde looks up from her painting and her eyes are blue but all Asami can think about is Korra's eyes. How blue they are and how they don't even compare to anyone else's. How she sees the azure hue in everyone else's eyes. How she wishes they were actually Korra's and Korra that she was looking at. The blonde gives her a soft look, like she knows what's running through Asami's mind. She shakes her head as Asami begins to open her wallet, "Don't pay me."

"What? But this is amazing, please let me give you something for it."

The blonde shakes her head again, her eyes flicking behind Asami. The corners of her lips pull softly upwards, "Fine. But I won't take money."

Asami frowns, "What can I give you then?"

The blonde steals a glance at the brunette guitar player who's staring back. The brunette was probably staring the whole time during the interaction but Asami didn't notice. The two must know each other because it looks like they're communicating telepathically. The blonde begins to roll up the sunset painting. "Don't be afraid," is what she says and definitely not what Asami was expecting. The blonde gives a slight head nod behind Asami who turns around to see Korra walking towards her with a skip in her step.

She turns back around to see the blonde holding out the thin tube casing for the painting. She's surprised that three words from a stranger is all she needs to loosen her grip on that rock she has been holding on to. Three words that make her realize she wants to free fall into an adventure. An adventure before the inevitable end but filled with excitement nonetheless. She thanks the blonde and turns just in time for Korra to arrive.

"What's next, Detective?" She asks as she tucks the new painting into her purse.

"Hmmm...let's go on the rides!" Korra replies and if the mischievous grin on her face is anything to go by, she's probably thinking of the one ride Asami can't handle. But for Korra?

**Anything.**

She barely makes it. On the ride that is, and the look of pure joy on Korra's face kept her going all the way until the ride ended. It was a horrifying ride but if Asami is being honest, the gleeful screams of a laid back detective is all she wants to hear for the rest of her life. If that means going on that one particular ride every single day, then she would go and build one in her damn backyard.

Fortunately, Korra choses to ride the ride once and the exhilaration never leaves her face. Asami wasn't complaining. They decide to see the street performances along the boardwalk where they run into Chief Lin Beifong and her adoptive son.

"Detective," Lin says with a nod of acknowledgement towards one of her best detectives.

"Chief," Korra responds and it's all too professional. And awkward. Definitely awkward.

Korra, bless her adorable heart, breaks the professional awkwardness and crouches down to the little boy who is hiding behind the chief's legs. "Hey bud! My name's Korra! What's yours?" Her face softens as she extends a hand for the boy to shake.

The boy shrinks farther behind Lin's legs who frowns slightly at the movement, "It's okay, kid. She's not gonna hurt you." The boy looks up at Lin who returns a smile which surprises Asami a little because she didn't even think the woman capable of morphing her face into such a thing. Apparently children are her soft spot, then again, when weren't they anyone's soft spots? They're adorable little rascals...when they're behaving.

The boy moves around Lin's legs and timidly shakes Korra's extended hand, "Leo," he says. His voice is small and still a little shy but Korra seems to ease the boy further.

She grins that toothy grin, "Wanna see what's going on?"

The boy gives a small nod and Korra reaches both hands out to place underneath his arms. She pauses for a second to see if the boy doesn't like where this is going but he only nods again. She lifts him up onto her shoulders and slowly stands as he grips Korra's head like it's a lifeline.

But as soon as the boy is securely in the air, the corners of his mouth turn upwards and he starts to laugh gleefully. He even dares to lift one hand from Korra's head as she sways back and forth, creating a mini ride for him.

The street performer begins his one-man magic show right when Korra stops swaying. The boy has the perfect seat as he watches the show unfold. Asami's heart can't help itself at the sight. It feels warm and fuzzy towards Korra's interaction with the boy. Especially since this was the boy she saved a year ago and kept an eye on but she wouldn't tell Korra that. All she cared about was the fact that Korra was able to bring this boy out of his shell, in the same way she cracked open Asami's shell.

Once the performer finishes, Korra leans down to place the boy back on solid ground, "How'd you like it?" she asks.

"It was fun!" He starts to jump around with his hands in the air while Lin whispers her thanks to Korra. The boy finally notices Asami and stops in front of her, "Who are you?"

Asami crouches down and extends her own hand, "I'm Asami." The aftereffects of the excitement must still be in place because he timidly shakes her hand instead of skirting around Lin's legs.

Under the guise of covering a grin and making sure that Korra and Lin are distracted, she discreetly uses her hand to cover part of her face so only her green eyes remain. She smiles and gives him a wink the moment his eyes widen in recognition. She places a finger over her mouth, hoping he'll understand. He nods gleefully and wraps his small arms around Asami. She doesn't hesitate for a second to return the embrace. She sighs in content and leans her head against the top of his. She hears a muted sniffle against her jacket.

"Thank you," he whispers in her ear.

"You're welcome, Leo."

* * *

The fireworks are beautiful. At least that's what Korra says but Asami can't agree. There's a far more beautiful sight right beside her, the fireworks are simply a perfect backdrop to the perfect figure.

"Asami," Korra says turning to the CEO. "Thank you, this  **was**  unforgettable."

Asami's heart warms, for the second time that night, at the words. Her stomach flips and all her lessons of mechanics or being an assassin go flying out the window because she's at a loss for words. Why? Because Korra is smiling. But it's not the silly grin she gives everyone else. It feels like a smile, a genuine heart-felt smile. A smile that Asami hopes is reserved only for her. A smile she hopes she can see on Korra's face time after time, again and again until her last day on this earth. Even when she gets arrested, she'll continue to replay this smile and everything Korra in her head so she can get through her prison sentence. And even if Korra is gone, too hurt and betrayed by Asami, that smile will be selfishly tattooed in her brain like a visual stimulus that will constantly send action potentials down her nervous system to her heart, demanding that it physiologically pump out feelings instead of blood. Asami's pretty sure she can live without that fluid just as long as she had that smile of Korra's.

Asami nods, giving back her own smile that she hopes conveys everything she's thinking; everything she's feeling. Korra seems to get it because the curve of her mouth turns brighter and bigger, if that were even possible but it does.

It absolutely does.

* * *

Opal is basically ready to take over the company after a few minor details given by Asami. She's been around Asami and Future Industries's meetings from the beginning so she knows all the twists and turns of the racetrack that is business. So the two find the rest of Asami's days spent in the training room, cracking into the hard drive and reading the leather bound book. They learn a lot about Hiroshi and his dealings with Red Lotus. When Asami realizes that the words in the book were written by her father  **for her** , she slams the book shut and tosses it aside, angry tears clouding her eyesight.

With the leather book forgotten for the moment, Asami dives head first into her date tonight.

**[Asami Sato, 4:47PM]: Hi Korra, are you still on for tonight?**

**[Korra, 4:48]: Of course! Why? Is everything okay? We can always reschedule.**

**[Asami Sato, 4:48]: No, no! Everything's perfect! :) I'll pick you up at 7?**

**[Korra, 4:49]: See you then, Asami. <3**

A red emoji heart should not make Asami squeal so much but apparently it can. She squeals so loud that Opal comes running up the stairs ready to fight someone.

"What's going on?! Everything okay?!" Opal's eyes are wide and she's holding a katana as she sweeps the room only to find her best friend biting her lip and jumping on the couch in the living room.

"Oh, sorry! Did I disturb you?" Asami ceases her jumping only to side-flip off the couch and land gracefully in front of Opal. "Also, what did I say about handling the weapons?"

"Shit! Sometimes I forget you're pretty much a ninja," Opal clutches the material at her chest, attempting to reap in oxygen. "Listen, when you hear a pig dying or something and I'm worried about your safety, I'm taking advantage of that arsenal downstairs."

"Hey! I'm not a pig!"

Opal raises an eyebrow at Asami and simply turns around back to the training room. She doesn't hear Opal's laugh until the girl has completely disappeared from view.  _Asshole_. But Asami's own lips curve and it's the happiest she's felt.

* * *

It's the fifth night out of eight. Tonight, Asami opts for a maroon three-quartered button-up and black jeans that look painted on. She slips on her deadliest heels (literally and figuratively) and says goodbye to Opal.

The drive to Korra's apartment is nerve wracking. Tonight is less of a festival date and more of a dinner date. And why is Asami so nervous? Feelings. Right.

 **Real feelings**.

Asami struggles to maintain that confidence she possessed before she met Korra. But upon first glance of that enticing dark skin, Asami is promptly turned into jelly. She doesn't struggle or fumble with her words but she feels her heart race, her skin burn, her mouth drying, and her body fill with emotion.

"Hey!" Korra greets, her tone ecstatic.

Asami chances another look at Korra who's wearing a white blazer over a tight black tank top on top of black jeans that hug every single muscle in Korra's body. She unabashedly takes in the detective's figure, eliciting a blush and a nervous tug at the front ends of her short brown hair.

"You look...amazing," Asami purrs, once she's able to command her voice again.

"You too," Korra says, biting the bottom of her lip.

The air inside the car suddenly grows thick and hot. Both women struggle to obtain adequate amounts of oxygen as they continue to observe each other. More like feast on each other but that's what they're supposed to be doing to their dinner.

Korra clears her throat and reality falls back into place for Asami who shifts the car into gear and peels out of the apartment complex. The restaurant isn't too far and they reach it in ten minutes. They're greeted with the valet once they step outside who retrieves the key from Asami and ushers the pair inside.

"Good evening, Ms. Sato. Right this way," a man in a pristine suit bows slightly and gestures with his arm towards a private room. Korra quirks a brow at Asami who only shrugs in return with a small smirk playing across her face.

As soon as they're seated, Korra takes a look at the menu then immediately shuts it.

"Is everything okay?" Asami asks gently.

Korra shakes her head. "Asami," she whispers while leaning across the table, "this place is expensive!"

"No, don't worry about it," Asami insists. Maybe it was a bad idea to take Korra to a fancy restaurant. "Trust me," she reaches forward and lays a delicate hand on Korra's arm. She notices the goosebumps start to form on the detective's skin and Asami feels her heart rate increase exponentially.

Korra ponders for a moment but eventually nods, daring to pick up the menu again. When the waiter arrives, the two order.

"So when did you know you wanted to be in the force?" Asami asks while they sip their wine and wait.

Korra shrugs, "I think I've always known. I've always wanted to help people. Even when I was a kid, I'd defend the ones who were getting bullied."

Asami tries not to imagine a cute little Korra running around yelling at bullies to leave her friends alone. She tries but she fails, "That's kind of like how I've been about engineering."

"How so?"

"Wait, you didn't read up on me?"

"No," her short brown hair moving in time with the shake of her head, "well, only that you're a successful businesswoman but I'd rather hear about it from the actual source."

Asami grins. Korra wasn't like everyone else. She didn't judge Asami based on what her father did. Well, technically she couldn't because she didn't dive deep into Asami's history. She feels excitement at this opportunity, like a fresh start. Plus she may or may not have eavesdropped on a certain conversation in a certain Red Lotus lab. But just to make sure, even if she already knows the answer, "Do you know what my father did?"

A gulp slides down that alluringly slim neck, and Asami knows that she knows. Korra gives her a timid reply, "Yes."

"Mmm. That's okay."

"Really?" Korra says, her eyebrows accenting her surprise.

"Yeah. Because you're still here aren't you?"

Korra's lips pull into the same soft smile from the night before and the same fireworks explode within Asami's chest. It's the smile that she had permanently etched into her mind but oh, it is so much better seeing it in person. Asami mirrors her before the detective can even give a reply.

The waiter arrives with their food and without warning, Asami's stomach betrays her smooth and collected aura to audibly growl at the smell. Her cheeks pinken and she feels like an embarrassed teenager at her very first date despite the detective and the CEO being on dates before.

Korra snorts at Asami's embarrassment until her own stomach begins to grumble. Korra blanches and her cheeks take on the same pink hue as Asami's. They make eye contact; eyes wide while their stomachs continue to sing. Finally, Korra laughs and Asami quickly follows. It's all so awkward but good. So very good.

 _"Don't be afraid,"_  the words of the talented blonde artist echo in Asami's ears.

The CEO eyes the metaphorical rock she's been holding on to. All the years and all her efforts of holding on to it are completely washed away by a magnificent blue wave named Korra. She's falling now and she doesn't want to stop it.

They finish their dinner, never failing to lose the conversation. Asami discovers Korra visits orphanages, helps build homes, and patrols even when she's off the clock. She feels the strings in her heart tug and wrap around the organ tighter upon this discovery.

When their table has been cleared, the chef personally delivers their wine and dessert.

"Ms. Sato, I've prepared your favorite for tonight: creme brûlée," the chef bows and places the elegant dish in front of them.

"Thank you, Zhao. You know the way to a woman's heart," Asami teasingly places a hand over her chest, "How's June?" she asks.

The chef's eyes light up and immediately dives into the most recent escapades of his five-year-old daughter. He finally finishes with a proud look on his face and a very excited look on Asami's. He bows again, taking his leave. Asami turns back to Korra and finds the detective staring with her mouth slightly open.

"How do you know the chef?"

"His wife works in the HR department for Future Industries. I come here a few times to catch up with the family," Asami lifts her shoulders, "I do the same for all my employees."

"You're amazing," Korra says.

Asami swears she might develop an arrhythmia.

The check never comes which isn't a surprise to her but it is to Korra. The CEO leaves a few hundred yuans, more than enough to cover the bill and then some. The pair leave after a goodbye from the very talented chef and all too soon she is driving back to Korra's apartment.

Once they park in front of the building, Asami shifts the car into park and turns to face Korra, "Thank you, for tonight. I was afraid a fancy restaurant might have been too much." Thank you for trusting me is what she really wants to say.

"Of course, I had a great time tonight. Did you?" Korra replies. She leans closer, ever so slightly, waiting for a response from Asami.

Asami swallows quietly and leans forward. Their noses are touching, their breaths mixing with each other, and her skin is alight. "Korra," she breathes and she doesn't miss the way that the detective shivers at her low and husky voice.

The air is thick inside the car again and Asami feels the heat pool into her cheeks. She rests her forehead against Korra's and takes a small deep breath, working up the courage to push her lips closer.

Their lips finally meet and the world falls away around Asami. The kiss is electric; it's fire, it buzzes. It isn't like the kiss on the balcony during the party. This feels...different and most definitely in a good way. Asami prefers this kiss over the first one they shared and she prefers Korra's lips over anyone else's. She's truly addicted to Korra and to the way Korra is tentative at first, still nervous about the whole thing. Soon enough, Korra's lips become more languid, parting slightly when Asami's tongue plays across the detective's bottom lip. Korra's hand snakes up to her neck to cradle her jaw. Asami reaches up to lightly grip the detective's wrist, running her thumb over the tendons in the soft hand. Korra tastes like wine and her favorite dessert.

Korra is Asami's new favorite dessert.

It's intoxicating.

Asami feels something within her whir to life. She thinks it might be her heart racing again but when she opens her eyes to stare at the detective, she can't breathe. The enhanced vision is back, stronger than before. She expected to see bright, bright blue in front of her, instead she sees an optic nerve.

_What the fuck?!_

Trying to get her vision under control worsens when Asami's head connects with the window of the car in an attempt to jerk away. When she moves further back, she sees retinal blood vessels causing her to panic. She knows her face is contorted into a look of horror and she knows that Korra is calling her name but all she sees is the inside of the eye that was supposed to be a beautiful blue iris. She feels her head shaking and she's too shocked to have any control over her body. Asami ungracefully scrambles out of the car, mumbling an "I have to go."

Her breathing is erratic as she looks cautiously around her. Everything is too close; it's too much. Underneath her feet she can see into the sewers that run beneath the streets, the stairs leading up to Korra's apartment show her they're made of wood, and she can see the internal structure of her car. The headache from the inconsistent vision swarms her brain, making Asami clutch her head in desperation. She swears she might have seen the Red Lotus symbol swarming her peripheral vision. She continues to steadily back away from the car, darting to look anywhere to find some kind of normal view.

But the vision is still there, following her gaze like a dog who stubbornly follows its owner around. She dares a quick glance at Korra again and calms a little when she finally sees her new favorite shade of blue but she's far away, too far away to know this isn't normal. Slightly shaking her head, she whirls around and leaves. She closes her eyes and uses her other senses to guide her in a proper direction.

She doesn't have to wait long though, because Opal shows up once she's obtained enough distance from the poison that is the detective. Always loyal Opal stays quiet as she leads Asami to her car, mentioning that she'll pick up Asami's car tomorrow. The CEO keeps her eyes shut, trusting her best friend to lead her safely into the car and back to the loft. The ride is quiet but Asami's panic is screaming in a volume louder than a bomb going off.

Arriving at the loft, Opal parks the car and turns it off. Asami takes in a few calming breaths until her heart rate settles to a homeostatic pace. She opens one eye to test the waters on her vision and sighs, relieved when she finds everything is back to normal.

"Opal, I don't know what happened," Asami says, turning to her best friend.

Opal simply shakes her head, leading the CEO up the steps and into the loft.

Asami is numb throughout her whole body. She replays the soft and gentle kiss in her mind, reveling in the difference between this kiss and their first. But the night's last minutes run into her mind like a semi, choking her breath, forcing her to relive the memory again and again. She knows that Korra must have been confused or hurt even and her heart aches knowing she was the cause. She takes a glance at her phone and sees dozens of texts plus a missed call from Korra. She throws it across the room, hearing the telltale crack of a screen causing Opal to flinch. She needs to calm down; tries to but fails as she realizes she can't face Korra again, not after what happened.

But Asami wants—aches—to, she wants to gaze into those deep blue irises and lose herself in them. She wants to feel the press of soft lips against hers, the feel of silky brown hair, and the taste of dessert wine and creme brûlée. She turns as if to go back to Korra but she knows, she knows she has to figure this out first.

A part of her is aware though. The part that scolded her for pursuing Korra in the first place. The part of her that knew Korra was a weakness, a distraction. The part of her that built the stable wall within her heart, standing tall and proud as ever.

"Asami, let's go down to the training room and see what's going on," Opal says, her hand already on the scanner to open the hidden room.

Asami struggles to stand, wills her legs to move. Left, right, left, right, step down, step down. She ignores the war within her chest and mind to focus on finding out what exactly is wrong with her. This isn't how her final days before she gets arrested were supposed to occur. She wanted an exciting and enticing adventure not this...whatever this is.

Opal sits her down and proceeds to flash a light into her eyes, checking its function. Apparently, they work fine which confuses the hell out of Asami.

"You don't understand," she pleads, "there  **is**  something wrong." I saw the Red Lotus symbol is what she wants to scream but Opal doesn't know. She can't ever know, "It was like my eyes became microscopes. I could see the vessels in her eyes. And the first time this happened, I was able to see water on a bush in the dark from like, twenty yards away."

Opal taps her chin, "When did this start happening?"

Asami eyes her best friend for a minute because the woman has a look that says 'I think I might know the answer to this problem.' But describing Opal is nowhere near the definition of a doctor. She works best with computers and business deals, "Right after I kiss Korra. I've only kissed her twice and it's happened..." Asami trails off, confirming her own fears in her mind and realizing what Opal knows.

Opal nods, "I think you can control it though."

"I can't. You saw how I freaked out!"

"Hear me out, okay?" Opal doesn't wait for the reply, "It has to do with your nanobots, I think."

Asami grips the chair she's sitting on. She knows it's not her nanobots. It's those foreign ones—Red Lotus's—she found in her system a year ago. She curses herself for fixing those stupid nanobots and putting them back into her system. But Opal doesn't know about these foreign nanobots and she sure as hell doesn't know who put them there. So, Asami keeps her mouth shut, continuing to hide the truth from her best friend. It's a betrayal on two fronts: Korra and Opal. She grips the chair tighter in her frustration and anger. A second later, she feels the chair fall apart underneath her, forcing her to stand up.

"I can't even control my own strength right now! What makes you think I can control," Asami waves wildly at her eyes, "this?!"

Opal doesn't flinch at Asami's temper, instead she steps into her space. She places a calm hand on Asami's fist; one hand steady while Asami's is shaking. "You can."

"How?" Asami dips her chin down to stare at her trembling hands, defeated.

The corner of Opal's lips curve upwards, "We're gonna cheat a little bit. But first, let's find the true cause of it."

"Wha—?"

Without warning, Opal presses her lips to Asami's. Caught off guard, the CEO reels back only to be pushed against a table. Opal moves her hand to the back of Asami's neck and uses the new leverage to deepen the kiss. Asami closes her eyes and gives a firm but gentle push on her best friend's shoulders. She slowly opens her eyes and sighs when her vision is normal.

"Well?"

"The fuck was that for, Opal?!"

"Testing a theory," Opal replies nonchalantly. "How's your vision?"

Asami blinks, "Normal."

"Mmhmm, good," Opal jots down a few notes in a small notebook. "By the way, we are  **not**  telling Bolin what happened."

Asami stares at her best friend...and stares and stares, until she can't hold it in anymore. She bursts out laughing so hard, she's snorting in an attempt to breathe. Opal has a stupid-ass grin on her face until she starts to laugh, snorting alongside the CEO. Asami feels a little free in this moment, her fear of the vision slowly fading. The gravity of the situation forming quickly in the atmosphere into zero-gravity. Her best friend just kissed her, for experimental purposes, of course.

As soon as Opal can breathe again, she explains to Asami her theory, "Well, this rules out that the vision isn't activated by just kissing. Okay, now I want you to think about Korra. But!" She raises an accusatory finger at Asami, "Happy thoughts, not your morbid ones."

Asami rolls her eyes but obeys the request. She closes them and thinks about the detective. Dark brown hair, eyes as blue as the sky, a silky smooth voice, and a dopey grin. Her heart races when she remembers the way Korra looked at her after Asami interacted with the chef or the way her eyes sparkled when she played with Leo. She remembers the way it softened whenever they held hands or how animated they were whenever Asami was telling Korra about her childhood.

She imagines Korra after a work out. Beads of sweat trickling down taut skin over hard muscles. Korra's chest rising and falling with her breathing. A particular bead of sweat rolling down her neck, tracing its destiny towards a crevice formed by supple breasts. Asami's mouth dries and she licks her lips. She feels heat pool into the area between her legs and subtly flexes the muscles of her thighs. She lets out a hot, breathy sigh as she imagines Korra's hands sliding up her legs, onto her hips, onto her inner thighs.

She feels something whir within her and she knows it's happened before Opal speaks up.

"Okay, okay, you can stop now. Jeez, you look like you were about to masturbate yourself into oblivion."

Asami's cheeks are already flushed from the inappropriate thoughts and she feels her face burn hotter in embarrassment, layering over the aroused state she dug herself into, "I think my vision changed."

"Slowly, okay Asami?" Opal's voice is strong but soothing and it calms her, "Slowly."

She lifts one eye open to peek at Opal. Just as she thought, she can see the blood vessels wrapped around Opal's heart. She opens the other eye and suddenly everything is sharp. She looks around her finding her surroundings as microscopic as before, maybe even a little bit stronger. Asami feels the panic well up in her throat, her breathing starts to become erratic and her heart speeds up as she tries, desperately, to blink away the enhanced vision.

She doesn't realize that Opal is in front of her until her best friend is wrapping her arms around her, shushing Asami until her breathing normalizes. Falling into the embrace, Asami closes her eyes again. Her body feels numb for the second time that night and she can't hold herself up anymore. She slumps to the floor, bringing Opal with her. Tears are threatening to spill as she confirms Korra  **is**  a distraction, a weakness. She can never have what she wanted with Korra. As of right now, she has never felt so far away from the home she had wished—ached—for. Her heart screams for Korra, for her to just hear the detective's voice. But that strong, protective part of her was right: being with Korra was never meant to be, being with Korra will always be wrong.

Only one tear falls as she loses the fight between consciousness and slumber in Opal's arms.

* * *

Asami wakes up in her king-sized bed. Her jeans and button-up nowhere to be seen, replaced by soft pajamas. She flings the covers away and notices her phone on the bedside table, the screen fixed.

 _Thank you, Opal_.

It's only midnight, she had slept for a few hours, three or four at the most. Leaning over, Asami picks up her phone: two dozen texts and five missed calls from Korra. She winces, she's never going to be able to face the detective again. She doesn't bother to check the messages because she knows what they will say: texts and voicemails of pain, confusion, hurt.

If only she did check though, she would see that the detective had not given up on her in the span of three or four hours. She would have seen that Korra was asking for another date, a do-over. But Asami doesn't see any of this. Instead, she places her phone back onto the bedside table and fumbles her way downstairs where her best friend is waiting, playing soft jazzy hip-hop through the loft speakers.

"You didn't have to stay up for me," Asami says, letting out a long exhale as she eases herself onto the couch, next to Opal. "Thank you, though."

Opal hums and continues to write in her notebook, not bothering to look at the CEO. A comfortable silence falls between the two. There is a perfect spherical reflection of the moon splayed across the surface of the ocean that even Asami can see all the way from the windows of her loft. She closes her eyes and allows the soft beat of the music flow through her; losing herself in listening to each instrument: saxophone, drums, guitar.

After a few songs, Opal slams her pen down onto the coffee table, yanking Asami out of her temporary peace. Asami pouts, only slightly irritated by Opal's rude awakening.

"I think I have it," Opal says triumphantly. She flips her notebook to what looks like the first page of whatever notes she was taking. Asami turns to Opal, giving her her undivided attention. "Okay, here's the theory: Korra—obviously—is causing all of this. Whenever you think about her it causes all these strong feelings to come up. It happens whenever you think strongly about or kiss Korra because well, duh, you're in love with her."

Opal says it so matter-of-factly that Asami is shocked. She's not in love with Korra. There's no way. She literally met the woman a month or two ago. There's no way, absolutely no way. But when Asami pauses to think about it, she realizes that okay,  **maybe**  she is falling for the detective. Korra occupies every single conscious and unconscious thought of Asami's, even haunting her dreams.

Asami shakes her head, if she agrees with Opal it means that she accepts—admits—it too. But she can't accept it. There's just no way. Remember that part of her that told her being with Korra was wrong? That's the whole reason why she knew being in love with the intoxicating detective couldn't be true. Even though she let Korra into her heart, she still kept her hand up, preventing Korra from getting too close.

But maybe Korra became a poison. One touch and her arm weakened, deteriorated in strength. Before Asami could realize it, her arm gave way and Korra was in her space immediately, commandeering the metaphorical room of her heart. Asami looks around this room and realizes that's exactly what's happened. Korra occupies every inch; the smell of the warm sun and the sea overwhelms the atmosphere, her radiance beaming and bouncing off the walls like a true angel that's fallen from the heavens. Asami loses her breath in awe of the captivating woman in front of her and she realizes that yes, she's falling for Korra.

 **Hard**.

It scares her.

Opal doesn't push on Asami's feelings, instead she continues with her solution to Asami's current predicament, "If you can find a way to tweak your nanobots to constantly supply your body with stress-relieving hormones, it might just be the way to balance your vision out. Although, x-ray vision could come in handy sometimes."

Asami is already running ideas through her brain before Opal can finish. It could work, maybe. But there are too many uncertainties along with far too much hope that it does work. Korra has quickly become Asami's guilty pleasure. For once in her life, she doesn't want to bow down to that protective wall but rather, she wants to fight. She wants this, aches for it,  **needs**  Korra. Instead of giving in to the fact that Korra is a distraction, Asami will find a way to make it work. She doesn't have much time left and she sure as hell isn't going to waste it on being afraid.

It takes Asami all night to produce the new nanobots. Opal helped as long as she could until exhaustion swelled over the young secretary-turned-CEO. But Asami stays up well into the middle of the next day, upgrading the tiny robots. She had a strong feeling these would work, hell, maybe even counteract the Red Lotus ones inside of her but that was wishful thinking. Opal still believes it's  **her**  nanobots causing this abnormality but Asami knew the truth and she was going to keep it to herself as long as possible. By three in the afternoon, bags rest underneath Asami's eyes, her hair is wild and falling out of her bun, her stomach growls, and the hormone nanobots are perfected.

Opal walks downstairs with a freshly washed, well-rested face to a CEO with her sleeves rolled up and a needle pressed to her arm. Asami lifts her head, a full-blown 'deer in the headlights' look on her face. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I perfected the nanobots so I figured I'd experiment on myself to make sure it worked well," Asami's indifference to her well-being and outright disregard for any imperfections or mistakes in her invention has Opal reeling with rage.

"Asami, you can't just inject yourself with something you literally invented overnight!"

Asami lifts her shoulders but places the needle back on the table, "That's what I did when I invented the first ones."

Opal crosses her arms over her chest, "Either you're a fucking genius or a fucking idiot."

"I'll take 'fucking genius.'"

"You're ridiculous."

"Your face is ridiculous."

"Asami."

"Okay, fine. But it's not like we can test these on anyone else and I am  **not**  testing on animals," Asami says before words of protest can leave Opal's lips.

"At least let me look over it, it was my idea anyway."

"You just want to go back to the secret lab, don't you?" Asami teases.

Opal scoffs, "No." Asami raises an eyebrow, "Oh my gosh, okay yes! Can you blame me? That place is like my own technical amusement park!"

Asami rolls her eyes but finally acquiesces, "We have to wait until after business hours. In the meantime, let's make lunch. I'm starving!"

Opal groans as she rubs a hand down her face, "You're killing me." But she dutifully walks upstairs, mumbling to herself recipes for lunch.

* * *

The hormone nanobots work perfectly fine after Opal added a few adjustments and recommends not to inject them but mix them in with the current ones inside the tank at the loft. When Asami asks why, Opal shudders in response saying she doesn't want her best friend to administer nanobots the same way Red Lotus does for their Subjects. The CEO is quick to agree, her own shudder passing through her at the thought of any more Red Lotus connections within her body, even if it is simply a method to put the nanobots in her system. She doesn't want to be a part of Red Lotus any more than she already is, i.e. Hiroshi Sato and his nanobots.

It's the sixth night out of eight and Asami hasn't even bothered to check her phone for the fear that seems to consume her every single minute. Opal has no qualms about Asami's evasion, actually, she's being oddly nice. She hasn't teased her once, even going as far as making her top ramen and eggs.

Asami doesn't linger on the odd behavior for long, instead she works with Opal to integrate the new nanobots into the tank's systems. Their frequencies don't seem to conflict one another and so after a few more tweaks, the Invisible Hunter steps into the empty tank. The familiar oxygen mask falls from above and she places it over her face as the tank begins to fill with the new mixture. Opal hovers over the controls, ready to end it all if something were to happen.

* * *

It takes the whole night. Opal is ready for her with a towel, a full meal warming in the oven downstairs, and a weird look on her face. Asami, on the other hand, beams as she steps out of the tank. She doesn't feel different at all, just the normal sense of power she gets from her usual visits inside the tank.

While Asami inhales the meal, Opal eyes her warily until she can't take it anymore, "I'm fine, Opal!"

"It's just...," her eyebrows crinkle in worry as if she could take something from her best friend and lock it safely away.

"What?" Asami winces at the way the word comes out. She doesn't mean for it to be rude.

If Opal is bothered by her attitude, she doesn't show it. Her expression softens as she shakes her head, "Sorry, long night, I guess."

Asami studies her best friend and notices the dark circles under her eyes. Her hair is slightly out of place and her eyes are a little red as if she's been staring at a screen for too long or crying, "Are you okay?"

"Long night," Opal repeats, "Have you tried it to see if it works?"

"No. I'm...a little scared," Asami admits.

Opal shoots her a soft, small smile, "Come on, finish dinner, get some rest and then we'll head to the training room to test it. I wrote a program that can work with the hormone nanobots, I want to see if that works too."

"You never cease to amaze me, Opal."

* * *

The next day the two test out the nanobots. They work. They work better than Asami could have hoped for and with the program Opal wrote, they could be turned off so she could use the vision like an x-ray. Considering Asami's mind has been wandering towards a certain detective more often lately, the program allows her to use the once crippling vision as a new super power. A few successful tests leave the pair with nothing else to do except turn their attention back to the findings from the most recent lab.

Asami steels herself to sit down and actually read the leather bound book. Her eyes skim the pages, thinking she knew what to expect but what she read definitely was not what she was expecting. Instead, every word constricts and pulls her heart making her fold in on herself.

"Asami?" Opal's soft voice interrupts her reading. The CEO looks up to meet concerned eyes, "Are you okay?"

Asami takes in a deep breath, holds it while collecting her thoughts. She can't let Opal see this book. It'll reveal the last lie she's been telling her best friend through omission. She offers a weak smile but Opal doesn't seem to get the hint, "Maybe you should check your phone?"

Korra. The whole reason why they stayed up slaving over robots too small for the naked eye. The reason why her heart beats so fast, it could leap out of her chest. The reason why a war is brewing within her body. But Korra is also the reason why she wants to fight against everything she's learned.

"I'm scared," Asami admits, she seems to be afraid of a lot of things these days leaving her wondering where that confident CEO went. She looks up and is met with hopeful green eyes.

"Come on, Asami. You don't need to be. I'm sure everything's fine."

Asami isn't ready to face the personification of perfection that is the detective. She still isn't ready when Opal hands her the phone. Her hands shake as she swipes across the screen, unlocking it. She raises the phone to her ear, listening to the first message Korra had left her.

"Hi! Uh, hey Asami!" The CEO instantly feels her face loosen and her nervousness dissipates, "I hope you're okay. Listen, I hope I didn't scare you off and I was hoping we could try again? Not the kiss! I mean, well—yeah the kiss too. Wait never mind, what am I saying?! I meant a date! Another date! With me? Duh, Korra, of course me. Shit—!"

Asami hears fumbling on the other end and a faint "Korra, you're so stupid" playing at the tail end of the message. She places a hand over her lips to stifle a laugh as she presses play on the next message.

"Asami! Hi! Date, yeah?" The message ends abruptly.

Eyebrows furrowed in confusion but with the smile still in place, Asami decides to end Korra's self-torture by reading the texts the detective left. They don't help Korra at all but they do help Asami in releasing the laughter she was holding back. Opal eyes the CEO until Asami waves her off. It's noon during the seventh day out of eight so she presses the call button on Korra's name and waits.

The detective picks up in the middle of the second ring as if she was waiting for the phone call, "Hello?" It sounds hopeful, eager.

"Hi," Asami whispers, feeling warmth radiate across her entire being. She hears the detective exhale loudly.

"Asami? Are you okay? I didn't bother to drive your car back to your place. There are too many buttons and shit in there. Plus, I don't remember your address or how to get to your house. Then again, I could've driven it to Future Industries. But still, I didn't want to touch your car. Sorry, I'm rambling. Did I...scare you off?" Asami hears the hesitation and fear laced into the question. Her heart tugs knowing she was the cause of such worry and fear.

She gulps, "Yes, I'm fine. Listen, I'm really sorr—."

"Wait! No!" Korra exclaims and then rushes to finish her sentence before she pushes the CEO away again, "Can you tell me over dinner?"

"Are you asking me out, Detective Korra?" Asami teases, even though she knows the answer.

Korra exhales sharply, "Did you not read and listen to my embarrassing messages?"

"I thought they were cute,"  ** _You're cute_**.

"Uh—I—um," Korra fumbles. Asami wishes she was speaking in front of the detective at this moment, just to see a particular shade of red spreading across the detective's face except she realized she said those words out loud. Asami starts to blush and feels her skin tingle in anticipation. She looks at Opal who's holding back a laugh. She shoots a death glare at her best friend until Opal's face drains of color.

Korra clears her throat before ignoring the comment, saying, "Yes. Yes, I am asking you out on a date."

"Then I accept," beams Asami.

"Great! I'll pick you up tonight at five? I know it's a bit early for dinner." There's a bit of shuffling on Korra's end and if Asami's ears weren't enhanced, she wouldn't have picked up the faint, "I think you're gorgeous, not cute."

The corner of Asami's lip leaps towards the ceiling, "Sounds perfect, Detective Korra."

Asami hangs up the phone and looks up to see Opal biting her knuckles, a high pitched squeal starting at the back of her throat.

"Don't you dare, Opal," Asami warns.

It's too late. Opal lets out the squeal, jumping up and down with her hands in the air. Asami rolls her eyes, "Asshole."

* * *

"Opal!" The CEO calls from the second story of the loft.

"Yeah?!"

"I don't know what to wear!" Asami hears a crash and then stomping as Opal climbs up the stairs. Her best friend slides to a stop in front of her open bedroom door, out of breath. She doesn't miss the face-splitting grin on Opal's face.

"I know just the thing," Opal all but purrs.

Her best friend finishes laying the outfit out and sweeps her arm over it, showing off the display.

"No, absolutely not. One, I am  **not**  wearing that and two, I have no idea where we're going. Oh and three, what the hell?!" Asami scolds Opal who laid out what basically looks like strings of cloth.

"Good! Just testing your fashion sense," Opal chuckles as she cleans up the outfit to place back into her room. This time, she steps into Asami's closet to find more sensible clothing.

"When did you even wear that?!"

"Hmmm? Oh, those were back during my hoe days," Opal replies offhandedly.

" **You**  had hoe days?! I haven't even had hoe days!"

"Asami, you became a CEO before you were twenty-one. You had no time to be a hoe. Me, on the other hand...," Opal doesn't even need to finish the sentence.

Asami groans, "Why am I best friends with you?"

"Because you love me."

"Sure," Asami drawls the last two letters sarcastically.

Opal sticks her tongue out as she reappears and lays the outfit she picked out onto Asami's bed.

Both women stand to the side, hands caressing their chins in thought.

"This is—," Asami starts.

"Perfect?" Opal finishes.

"Yeah, I think this is the one. Thanks, Opal."

"Don't trip, chocolate chip," Opal replies cheerily before leaving the room so Asami could change.

Asami slips on the maroon shirt dress, using a wide leather belt to cinch her waist. A few gold bangles hang from her wrist as she leans down to put on her most comfortable pair of heels.

Opal wolf whistles as Asami rushes past her in the kitchen, keys in hand and ready to meet her weakness—no, the person she's willing to fight for.

* * *

It's the seventh night out of eight and Asami's betrayal shadows her every move but tonight, she's ignoring her shadow to soak in the woman sitting beside her. Korra looks beautiful tonight with simple skinny jeans and a white v-neck shirt. When she climbed into the car, she caught Korra's jaw flapping open, trying to find the words to greet the CEO but none escaped.

"Hi," Asami says sheepishly, saving Korra from having to say anything. Asami is hesitant and doesn't know what else to say because she left in such a rude and hurtful manner even if the detective asked for this second date. The events from her vision and panic attack  **still**  happened and there's nothing she can do to take them back. All she can pray for is that Korra will look past what happened, move forward and fight for her, just like Asami.

The detective finally finds her voice but not without it being a little raspy and shaky, "Hi."

A silence falls between the two. Asami thinks it's awkward but Korra continues to devour the CEO with nothing but her eyes. Just when it starts to become unbearable, Asami finally speaks up, "Any chance you'll tell me where we're going?"

Korra stops the "eye-fucking" (as Opal calls it) to shoot that toothy grin at Asami who didn't realize how much she missed that look until now. Korra purses her lips together and places her pointer finger atop those soft lips making a silent "shhh" while winking. Shifting the car into gear, she pulls out of the driveway and heads down the hill towards town.

* * *

"Asami, hey. We're here," Korra's voice is relaxing, pulling Asami deeper into her dreamlike state. She feels a firm grip on her bicep, rocking her roughly into consciousness.

She didn't even realize she had fallen asleep or how long for that matter. The exhaustion from inventing the new nanobots finally grasped the CEO. Groggily, she wipes at her dry eyes hoping there weren't any embarrassing signs of her nap. Asami blinks meeting dancing blue eyes within inches of her face. Korra realizes their proximity the same moment Asami does and when Korra leans forward to adjust her position so she can move away, so does Asami causing the two to collide heads.

"Ow," Asami moans, rubbing her forehead to soothe the pain.

Korra chuckles nervously, "You weren't waking up no matter what I did."

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" The CEO winces in her own pain. She knows her strength is a little unreserved right after she wakes up so she worries the detective took a blow harder than normal.

Korra seems dazed while she tries to answer, "I—uhm—yeah."

"Let me make it up to you," Asami replies hastily, "Dinner?" She knows they're about to have dinner but she can't help herself in teasing the detective.

That seems to snap Korra out of it as she refocuses on Asami, her lips curving, "Nah, that's on me tonight, babe." Korra winks and gets out of the car, leaving a hyperventilating CEO behind.

Asami steps out and takes a look at her surroundings. She's not at a restaurant nor a house or any type of building for that matter. Looking around her, the detective is nowhere to be found, "Korra?"

"Over here!" The detective's voice calls from a few feet ahead of her where a small hill is looming overhead. If there were a few lofts built upon this hill, Asami would have mistaken it for her own neighborhood. The giant sequoia is the obvious sign that this wasn't her neighborhood. She moves carefully up the hill to where the detective is sitting and can hear rustling the closer she gets.

A few moments later and the flicking of a lighter fills the silent afternoon air. A warm glow erupts from the first candle, the next candles quickly following suit until they create a sphere of warmth and soft light. Korra's face is aglow, her skin tinted with an almost ethereal luminescence. The candles illuminated the rest of the small area revealing a picnic.

"You know, I've never had a picnic," Asami confesses.

Korra looks up, her jaw dropping to the blanket, "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope, Hiroshi was too busy with the company and my mother was gone so it was kind of just me majority of my life. There was Opal but she was all I had," Asami has no idea why these words spill so effortlessly but after you've fought tooth and nail to be with that special someone, you start to feel open and free when you're finally with them.

"Well now you have me! And thank you for letting me be your very first picnic," Korra says as she finishes setting up.

There seems to be a lot of firsts between them: Korra's first Harmony Day, Asami's first picnic, the first time Asami fought against everything she's known, the first time she's felt fear from something other than a weapon aimed at her. Even Asami's  **first love**. She'll keep that one to herself though.

"I hope you don't mind," Korra says, "I made dishes from my home tribe so I pray you're not allergic to anything."

"I've always wanted to try Southern Water Tribe food!"

"You've never had Water Tribe food either?!" Korra asks, bewildered. Asami shakes her head, "You're killing me! Okay, you have to try this soup, mom's recipe!"

Asami settles down onto the large blanket, tucking her legs underneath her. Korra holds a bowl of the steaming soup as she spoons a small portion, blows on it and feeds the CEO. Korra's cheeks are flushed as she watches Asami taste it. Asami can feel the anticipation seeping into the atmosphere and when the hot liquid touches her tongue, a moan escapes her lips before she can chase it back.

A flash of wondrous white teeth catch Asami's eye and she sees the proud look on the detective's face. "It's delicious," she says, even if Asami's face had already said everything.

The two fall comfortably into the date with Korra feeding Asami a new taste of every dish, explaining the ingredients or how it's made. The CEO listens intently, hoping that maybe one day she'd cook for the detective and hoping that she'd get it right. Wait, she can't cook but maybe Opal could teach her. Asami watches Korra animatedly tell her of her childhood. But when Korra mentions her mother teaching her how to cook in the kitchen, Asami feels her heart constrict and her lungs squeeze out whatever air that was in her body.

Asami was too young when she lost her mother so she never had one to teach her how to cook or how to deal with boys (and girls). She didn't have a mother who read her bedtime stories or berated her for bringing home a stray polar bear dog. She didn't have a mother who brought her lunch to school when she forgot it at home or a mother who shared her sense of style.

Korra immediately senses the pained look, "Shit, I'm sorry, Asami."

"No, no, it's not your fault," Asami says quietly. "Really, I'm okay. I just...miss her sometimes."

"Hey! Maybe one day you could meet my mom! She would love you."

"Thank you," Asami replies and she means it. The possibility of feeling a mother's arms around her, even if it wasn't her own, made her heart flutter with hope.

"Come on," Korra says as she stands and stretches out her limbs. She sticks out a hand for Asami to help her up, "I want to show you something."

The two walk towards the tree, "You're not afraid of heights are you?"

"No,"  **Yes**. Okay, a story or two (maybe even a building) she can handle but if this is going where she thinks it's going then yes,  **one hundred percent 'I don't want to climb an obscenely large—larger than a twenty story building—giant sequoia' yes**. But for Korra? That's right, anything.

"I'll help you," Korra grunts as she pulls herself up to the first sturdy branch.

Asami could climb this tree in her sleep, if she wanted (if she wasn't afraid of heights). But following Korra's instructions and refusing to look down thrilled her into living this moment. They reach a particularly thick branch that extends outwards and overlooks the city. Korra shuffles down the length of the tree before turning around and holding a hand out for Asami. Swallowing her fears, Asami takes the hand and makes her way down the sturdy branch. She screams when Korra drops down to hang from the branch. But she is reassured again when the detective swiftly swings down the branch and pulls herself back onto it, placing herself behind Asami.

Too scared to twist around to look at Korra, Asami simply stares ahead of her. The city is laid out before her on her left and the ocean to her right. She can just make out the dot of her own hill in the distance meaning they're all the way across town. The street lights weave and expand throughout the city like thread laced within a dream catcher; it's erratic but beautiful all at once. The faint dots emitting from the street lights dance to their own beat under the dimming sky. To her right, she finally notices the sound of the crashing waves and instantly feels calm. The sky is an amalgamation of red, orange, yellow, blue, black and purple. Clouds hang low in the sky, catching the sun's rays. In the direction of the setting sun, the reds, yellows, and oranges concentrate into a thick single line, reflecting onto the ocean. The sun is already meeting the ocean in a desperate kiss, eager to complete its path and disappear into the horizon.

She feels Korra wrap her arms around her torso, "Just to make sure you don't fall," she says warmly.

"Korra," Asami breathes and she truly sees the sky now, in all it's setting beauty. The detective isn't in front of or beside her, allowing her to give the landscape complete attention.

"Yeah," Korra says as if she knows what's running through the CEO's mind and Asami feels the hot breath against her neck, making her shiver. "Are you cold?" Asami shakes her head so Korra continues, "I used to come here a lot. When I first came to Republic City I was scared and overwhelmed. Everything was so vastly different in the city than in the tribe. I would come after I graduated from the academy too. I found this on my first day here and I was so taken by this view that I ended up staying the night here with Naga."

"I'm glad you found it. And here I thought the view from my loft was amazing but this...this is indescribable," Asami feels a smile form against her neck as Korra places a soft, chaste kiss to Asami's pulse point.

"I know, I couldn't believe my eyes at first. I thought maybe I was just dreaming and knocked out on a park bench somewhere but it's real. I was really close to running back home to the tribe but I think this place made me stay. Actually, I know it did."

"My dad was never home," Asami confesses and her eyes widen. Why is she saying these things? Why are these words falling out of her mouth? Why did she say dad when she hasn't uttered that word in so long?

Korra starts to gently run her hand across Asami's forearm, "We don't have to talk about it, Asami."

"It's okay, I want you to know," the CEO replies, realizing that she does want the detective to know. She wants the detective to know everything about her: her fears, what makes her smile, and even her childhood (or lack thereof).

So she opens the book of her life to match Korra's, "He wasn't really a bad guy, you know. When my mom was alive, we'd have the family thing down to a T. On Thursday nights, Hiroshi would start the fireplace and mom would sit by it, reading," Korra didn't seem to notice Asami's correction to her father's name. "We'd play strategy games like chess or Pai Sho. I never beat him but I learned a lot about thinking one step ahead of your opponent. He was really happy when I broke my first board in martial arts class or I when I would correctly fix an engine. But then he was arrested and everything I had learned about him went flying out the window because I didn't recognize the man in handcuffs. Sometimes, I wish he was a normal guy, like he didn't have a genius engineer mind that made him build Future Industries. I wish he had been more of a dad when my mom died rather than a CEO." As soon as she confesses, Asami realizes that she's crying but they're silent and her body isn't wracking with sobs. She's grateful that Korra's not sitting in front of her. She may be vulnerable and open right now but she's not ready for complete vulnerability, even if that's how she feels right now.

"I don't like the man for what he did," Korra says after a few moments of hidden tears and silence, "but I am grateful for what he did to raise you. He did well, Asami. I think you're one of the most beautiful, most generous, most amazing woman I have ever met. That's why I—," Korra's arms tense so quickly that Asami thinks she might've imagined the motion, "You're Asami Sato, your own person...you're different." This time Korra's arms tighten around her more purposefully and they do not loosen. She feels Korra's cheek pressed against her shoulder and her warm breath of carbon dioxide brushing her neck.

Asami embraces this wonderful sense of belonging and acceptance. Korra is here—still here—with her, making no intention to leave her. Korra doesn't define Asami by the actions of her father, she never did in the first place. Instead, she got to know the real Asami. The Asami that cares intensely for her employees, that loves generously to those in the city who have never felt enough love, that invented everything the city could hope for and more. Reality falls away from Asami and it's just them with the setting sky, providing a perfect shot for Opal. She secretly hopes Opal captured this moment because she wants to remember it forever.

_This feels right. This is okay, Sato._

* * *

When the sky becomes too dark to see without a light, they climb down the tree together, helping the other so they don't fall. Asami wonders for a moment how it would be if they ever work together because they move so effortlessly and silently. A tap on the shoulder here, a slight nudge there. It feels natural moving amongst the branches. There's an unspoken contract of trust between them as they help each other climb down in the dark.

Once on the ground, Asami sweeps Korra into her arms, "Thank you, Korra."

Surprised at first, Korra doesn't move but then her arms slowly make their way up to her back. Korra finally wraps both arms around the slim waist, giving her a tight squeeze, "You're welcome, Asami."

Asami untangles herself from Korra but in the process, her lips accidentally brush the pulse point on the detective's neck. Korra shudders in response, forming goose bumps along defined arms and on her neck. Asami feels her own shudder course through the area between her thighs. Asami wants this, she knows she wants this, but a part of her is telling her, 'No, not yet. Not until she knows you  **completely**.' Whatever part is telling her this, is right. Even if she felt accepted tonight, she needs Korra to accept her completely; wholeheartedly; unconditionally.

So, Asami opts for a simple kiss which—if we're being honest here—isn't entirely simple. She feels the soft lips against hers, releasing a low and quiet moan from her chest. She missed the way they felt and she could spend hours kissing Korra. Asami runs her tongue, slowly, along Korra's bottom then upper lip causing the detective to open her mouth as she releases her own moan. The CEO darts her tongue inside and traces the outline, agonizingly slow, of the detective's tongue. Tonight, Korra tastes like kale chips and stew but also dessert wine which, Asami decides at this moment, is her new favorite way to taste dessert wine: on Korra's tongue. They pause to breathe but both women are struggling because their chests are heaving and Asami is breathing in Korra's exhale. She stares at the slightly open lips, wanting nothing but to have them pressed against her again. She chances a look up and Korra's eyes are dilated, the blue barely outlining the dilation. She knows her eyes must be the same because she feels her eyelids droop halfway down her eyes.

"Korra," Asami whispers and suddenly the detective pulls away.

Korra pulls on the front section of her hair, looking away with her head tilted to the side, "I'm sorry. I—can I ask that we stop?"

Asami has to will her heart to start beating again because it had stopped and all but dropped to the floor when she hears those words, "Why?" With everything that she has, Asami hides the hurt and a mask slides into place.

Korra must see the instant change in Asami's features because she surges forward again but stops within inches of Asami's lips, "Because I don't want to take you here, right now...in public. Even if tonight is beautiful and away from the city, I just—I don't know what I'm saying right now but I want to take it slow. I want to do right by you, Asami."

The organ within Asami's mediastinum begins to pump again. She has no words. If earlier was what she thought as acceptance, then this moment is more than that. It's safety. It's trust. It's everything Asami is okay with because this is someone she loves. She would wait until she was old and wrinkly if she had to so, she simply nods to Korra's confession.

The two work together in another perfect tandem cleaning up the picnic. Within a few minutes the car is packed and ready to go. Before Korra shifts the car into gear, she turns to Asami, "Thank you. For tonight, for understanding." Korra reaches across the middle and finds Asami's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Asami feels the warmth erupt within her again, "You're welcome Korra."

This time, their lips meet in the middle. It's gentle and calm. Asami knows that her vision has altered throughout the night. She's felt that whirring sensation during almost every moment tonight. But the hormone nanobots are working so well, that when she opens her eyes to stare at the beautiful blue, they're there. She smiles into the kiss, experiencing a whole new level of bliss.

* * *

"So how was your date?" Opal sing songs as soon as Asami walks through the door. She's seated at the kitchen table, leaning over Future Industries's newest invention: a tablet. It's late, or well really early in the morning, but her best friend is still up waiting for her.

Asami sits down across from Opal and smiles a dopey grin as she replays the date's events within her mind, "It was extraordinary."

Opal places a single picture in front of Asami, "This was the only one I took tonight and then I left."

The picture is of her and the detective sitting on the tree branch facing Asami's new favorite view. The outline of their figures is dark, almost black, while the rest of the scene is colored. The CEO clutches the picture to her chest, her eyes soften as she looks up at her best friend, "Thank you."

Opal nods and a comfortable silence fills the loft. There's jazzy hip hop playing through the loft speakers again. The kitchen is immaculate but Asami knows Opal must have cooked because there's a pan that's soaking on the stove. The police find out tomorrow. A thought strikes Asami, "Opal, when I...when I get arrested," Opal starts to shake her head. "Wait, hear me out. When I get arrested, will you move in here? I want you to take care of the loft and we can't just sell this or leave it. There's too much in here that I'd rather not explain to realtors. I want it put to good use."

"Asami...I can't," Opal's eyes are glassy, confusing Asami. She's just asking her best friend to move into the most technologically advanced loft in Republic City. It is a place that's suited for someone like Opal.

But Asami asks again, "Please, Opal?"

She watches as Opal curls around herself and sees the tears catch the kitchen lights as it falls from her best friend's eyes, "I'm sorry, that's not it. I—," Opal chokes back her next words, starting to shake her head. "I'm sorry," she tries again, "I'll take care of the loft, Asami." When Opal lifts her head, Asami is confused at what she sees: pain, pity, sadness, protection.

Not one to probe further, Asami nods and picks up the photo. "Thank you," she whispers and clutches the photo to her chest, leaving the table to head towards her room. Before she reaches the stairs though, Opal stops her.

"Oh! I have good news," Opal is hastily wiping at her face by the time Asami turns around. She lifts her tablet so it's within Asami's view, "They're behind on the analysis. So we have an extra day, Asami."

The dopey grin graces Asami's face again. She decides on surprising Korra at work the next day, similar to the way she first asked the detective to go on a date with her. "Thanks," she says and turns, leaving her best friend at the table.

As soon as Opal hears her best friend's bedroom door close, she walks to the hidden wall and opens the training room. She makes sure to close it and lock it, giving her an extra layer of protection so Asami doesn't hear these next few moments. Opal leans against the wall of the door, feeling the sharp cold steel against her clothed back. She takes in a shaky breath as she slides down and buries her head into her knees, "You're welcome." She cries and sobs and waits until her eyes are so dry she can barely blink without it hurting.

Opal pulls herself together after what feels like hours of releasing tears. She makes her way to her computer and switches it on. As soon as the computer is switched on, she opens the most recent file she had been working on. Numbers, words, and graphs-that would have probably given Asami a headache-fills the large screen. Opal starts working, knowing it's going to be another sleepless night, "I'll save you, Sato. I'm here."

* * *

The next morning, Asami gets up the moment the sun rises. She hears Opal snoring in her room and decides to let the exhausted woman be, instead she makes her way downstairs to train. She was a little preoccupied to train the past week and she already feels weak in her muscles. The room is hot from the rays of sun that manage to slither into the room. She finishes her workout as quick as she can because she's already too eager for today.

Opal is awake and cooking in the kitchen by the time Asami has gotten ready. Her best friend looks up from the pan tiredly, "Good morning."

"Good morning, Opal!" Asami is way too excited and hyper for this time of day but she can't help herself.

"Jeez, you're not even a morning person. Are you gonna ask Detective Korra out on another date?" Opal asks as she places a plate piled high with bacon, pancakes and another plate full of leafy greens.

Asami doesn't even complain about the salad this morning, "Hell yeah I am!" Her breakfast is scarfed down within minutes and she's already by the door, putting her boots on.

As she leaves, Opal cheerily calls out, "Go get 'em Speedracer!"

* * *

Asami walks into the police station, this time not with her usual confidence and swagger but with her excitement and love for Korra radiating off of her. She spotted the officer who led her to Detective Korra the first time and made her way over, "Hi!"

"H—oh! Hello, Ms. Sato!" The officer replies. Asami can tell she's not as surprised this time. The officer eyes the object in Asami's hands.

"These are for you," Asami hands the officer two slim boxes, "also, please call me Asami. 'Ms. Sato' is for old geezers who want to strike a business deal." She winks at the officer who starts to blush.

"Miss—I mean, Asami, what is this?" The officer waves one of the boxes slightly in the air.

"My 'thank you' gift for you. You led me to Detective Korra the first time instead of leading me to a supply closet or something," the two women burst into laughter.

The officer shakes her head cheerfully, while wiping at her eyes, "I would never do that. I'm Jet, by the way." The woman offers her hand for Asami who shakes it strongly in return.

"Jet? Is that short for something? And that, right there, is Future Industries's very first tablet." Asami leans in and whispers, "Just don't tell anyone, it's not even out on the market yet." She leans back with another wink.

Jet grins, revealing perfect white teeth, "Thanks and this secret is safe with me. And Jet is short for Juliette."

Asami eyes the woman for the first time, realizing that she could hit within Asami's strike zone. Well, anyone this beautiful could hit Asami's strike zone, if she wasn't already smitten with a certain Detective. "It was nice meeting you, Jet. But you'll have to excuse me, I have to find—"

"She's up the stairs, left hallway," Jet knowingly smirks then turns her attention to her latest gift, already waving Asami off.

The CEO chuckles as she makes her way to the detectives floor. She reaches the door of her target, shaking the last of her nerves off and steadies her breath.

She opens the door but the room doesn't fall into silence this time. She's greeted with a warm welcome with many smiles thrown her way. Detective Mako even offers her a head nod as she makes her way to the other end of the room. Detective Korra is too engrossed in the file on her desk to notice the rooms spontaneous cheers.

_Seriously, is she wearing headphones or something?_

"Fancy meeting you here," Asami teases. She leans in and brushes her lips against Korra's cheeks.

"Mako! What the hell are you—," Korra looks up and meets Asami's playful green eyes. "Asami," Korra breathes, "Hi."

The CEO leans in to press her lips against Korra's, "Hey," she says, smiling into the kiss.

The room erupts into raucous cheers and both women's cheeks redden. "These are for you," Asami says, over the loud volume.

It quiets down immediately the moment Chief Lin Beifong slams open her door, "What's going on here?!"

Asami had darted away from Korra before the Chief opened the door so she turns to the Chief, "Sorry, Chief. It was my fault."

Lin rolls her eyes at Asami and turns back around to go back to her office but not without shooting a subtle smile at the CEO who returns it with a bright show of teeth.

"I should let you go back to work," Asami says, placing the bouquet on the Detective's desk. "Can I see you tonight?"

"Pick me up at 7?" Korra asks.

Asami answers with a quick kiss, earning another round of quiet cheers. For once, people were on her side and even cheered for her and Korra. She feels accepted now more than she did last night. A wave of relief washes over her as she makes her way home.

Home. Where Opal waits and where she'll get ready to pick up Korra. Whatever happens tomorrow, she'll be able to remember today and events from the week before feeling pure bliss and content.

* * *

Opal lies.

It was wishful thinking to get the exact day correct for when the police force would find out. Asami wants to be angry at her best friend but she knows that Opal had no control over this, as much as they both wanted to. It was stupid to think that she could fall easily into a sense of comfort. She knew this day was coming, she just wished she had another day. Another day to spend in paradise with the Detective. She knows Opal made a mistake because her best friend would never deliberately giver her a false sense of hope so she prays that Opal isn't beating herself up over this. Still, it hurts.

The police had knocked on her door thirty minutes before she was about to leave. She checked the outdoor camera and saw it wasn't who she was expecting. She took a quick glance around to make sure there were no weapons or evidence linking her and Opal. But the training room door was wide open, she knew Opal was down there and prayed that her best friend wouldn't try anything stupid like run back up and fight the police or reveal the training room. She pressed her hand to the wall and the door quickly slid into place, leaving no trace of its existence. Satisfied, she straightened her back and opened the front door.

The police barge in through the door. But she's stopped in her tracks when her date for tonight steps up to the front of the small crowd of police officers. Her heart shatters to pieces when she sees Korra, whose face is contorted into a look of pain and betrayal. Asami knew this was going to happen, she prepared herself for this moment but it wasn't enough. Nothing will ever be enough to ease the pain she sees in Korra's eyes. She thought she'd be able to handle the betrayal but nothing compares to the look Korra has in her eyes.

The pieces of her heart stab through her chest, making it extremely difficult to breathe. She falls to the floor and watches as Korra keeps looking straight ahead, never meeting her eyes again. She's so stupid thinking she could have prepped for this: this feeling of betrayal crushing her to the brink of death.

She feels rough arms pull her upwards to stand. The people who cheered her on during her visit to the station are now the same people cuffing her behind her back and reading her rights. She tries to meet Korra's eyes again but the beautiful blues are replaced with a stormy grey. She chokes back a sob, "I'm so sorry," she croaks. The pain in her chest doubles and she can't breathe. She's trapped in the memory of the icy stare Korra gave her when she opened the door. She can't form any more words because the betrayal had snaked its way up her neck to squeeze her throat. The shards of her heart continue to cut her within, making her bleed every ounce of her deception.

"Take her away," Korra's once angelic voice is now as sharp as the shards. One of the police officers shoves her hard and she cries out in pain. Korra's eyes find her briefly and a flash of worry replaces the storm but as quick as it came, it disappears back into the storm.

Asami doesn't think she could be cut anymore than she already has but she does. That brief second of concern sparked hope within her but its snuffed out with another cut. The pain grows exponentially and she wants to scream because this no longer feels metaphorical but physical. She prays that the Red Lotus nanobots aren't actually cutting her insides. But if she follows the logic of how they enhance her vision when she's genuinely happy then true heartbreak could, quite literally, break her heart.

The CEO is led outside where the news and her employees are gathered.

_How did I not see them arrive?_

She spots Zhao and his family and offers him an apologetic look. He returns with a confident smirk and nods his head. As soon as the motion is completed, every single one of Asami's employees steps up; even Varrick is there. Some hold a sign, others stand proud, and many carry their children. The signs have various messages of love and support for the CEO, some even go against the police. The ones who stand proud make eye contact with Asami and immediately she feels their protection. The children all wave their little hands and call out her name, "Auntie Asami! Hi Auntie! We love you, Ms. Asami!" The tears she was holding back begin to collect and form behind her eyes. She swallows the football-sized lump in her throat as a shaky smile graces her features. The closer she gets to the car, the louder her employees become until they turn into a deafening roar.

Before Asami's head is pushed into the car, she turns back to the crowd of employees. She musters everything she's ever experienced with her employees: every meeting, every company event, every moment bonded, every one of Varrick's ridiculous demands, every child she watched grow up, every medical bill she paid, every college tuition she gave, every raise she handed out, every tear she wiped, every hour spent in the workshop, every struggle she worked through.

She gives the crowd the warmest smile she's ever felt she's given (even warmer than the one she gives Korra). Tears silently fall down her cheeks and she closes her eyes, the smile still in place. Her employees roar louder than ever and she hears them through the windows of the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think! Thanks!
> 
> P.S. I finally learned how to format, a little bit


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading guys! This is a shorter chapter so I'm sorry! But trust me, this fic is haunting me and I just have to write it. It's a little dark and sad but don't worry, it's still a happy ending. :)
> 
> Also I kind of lost my beta so any mistakes are my own.

"Take her away," the words repeat over and over in Asami's head. Each repetition bringing the memory of stormy eyes and a new cut inside her chest. She couldn't have imagined how hurt Korra was. Well, she thought she could have but it was worse, far worse than when her father betrayed her.

Asami's heart ached for Korra, for the proverbial light she brought into the once dark and cold room within Asami. The chamber of her metaphorical heart's walls had been completely destroyed, especially that damn stubborn wall which had also housed a full size, healthy organ. It beat her feelings underneath her skin, reached every part of her that ached to know Korra. Her body and soul rejoiced in thinking that 'maybe, this would be it; maybe, this is my chance at love.' Korra was—no, still is the simplest kind of beauty but extraordinary as well. Like finding that spot upon the hill at the perfect time when—together—they watched the sun kiss the ocean and meld cohesively like a married couple who hadn't seen each other in years. And yeah, it's that kind of beauty. A special kind. Extraordinary.

But now, her once bright chamber is encased in pitch black darkness...again. In the distance, she can see Korra's walls being built. It's going high, higher than ever before with a roof placed on top for good measure. Asami knows that the roof is her fault, she knows that Korra is putting her fortress up because of her and her betrayal.

The cold inside her chest mirrors the cold in the holding cell. It's dark, musty, and humid with a heavy smell of sweat. Around her, there are men in different cells. She uses her enhanced vision to peer into the cell next to her only to be horrified with the view: a man with his pants down, pissing into the toilet. Quickly, she looks away while calming her breath to return her vision to normal. She groans and holds her head in her hands.

On the eighth night out of eight, Asami Sato lies down on the steel bed, surrounded by grunting and pissing men. The metal walls of the holding cell seem to concave towards her, swallowing her up to take her away from reality. Sleep does not come easy for her tonight. Her dreams are flooded by her mother's last breath leaving her lips, the impassive face of Hiroshi Sato as he was getting handcuffed and the detective's pained look as she ordered officers to take her away.

* * *

"Sato! Wake up!" A loud voice from an unknown source reverberated off the metal walls and filled her single cell. Asami gets up within a second having little to no sleep from the night before.

The owner of the voice steps inside and roughly shoves her against the wall. The cold metal bites into her bare skin. She's still wearing the outfit for the date she wanted to have last night. The top is long-sleeved but opens into a V at the front to show a decent amount of cleavage. Now though, she regrets her decision in fashion because the metal is so cold like the frozen organ within her chest. Her arms are jerked behind her and she feels the deafening click of the metal cuffs around her wrists and ankles.

_I could easily take this officer down. Stop it, Sato. You're only going to make it worse for yourself._

He pushes her out into the hallway and leads her down it. The men in the holding cells start catcalling and whistling at her. It takes all of her willpower to not jerk out of this officer's grip to kill—sorry, maim—those stupid men behind the bars.

At the end of the hallway, he roughly pushes her again into the elevator. They take five floors up and she begins to wonder where in the hell she's going. She's led down another hallway and as they reach the door, she's manhandled into the room. The officer cuffs her legs to the table that has been built into the floor and her arms are cuffed onto the metal bar in the middle. Without a word, the rude officer walks out of the room, leaving an annoyed CEO.

Asami sighs, she knows this is an interrogation room or at least, she figures it's one. There's a one way mirror to her right and no windows were built into the rough concrete walls. She decides to activate her vision to peer around her.

Korra, Mako, and Lin all stand within the room beyond the mirror. There are numerous monitors inside, a large whiteboard at the back, and she sees internal wiring leading up to a camera built into the top corner of the interrogation room. They're huddled around a monitor until Korra looks up. Asami sees the detective freeze and watches as the detective's eyes widen, her heart rate picks up and her mouth parts slightly. Asami remembers to avert her gaze from Korra's beautiful blue eyes.

_Shit, I hope she didn't catch me._

Korra taps Mako on the shoulder pointing directly at Asami, "Dude, I think she can see us."

It's muffled because of the thick one-way mirror but Asami catches the words nonetheless. She hears Mako sigh heavily, "You say that  **every time**  there's someone in that room, Korra."

Asami has to resist the chuckle she feels forming deep within her chest. It's fighting its way up, trying to get past the diaphragm and into her trachea. She swallows it down, forcing it back to where it originated and continues to look past the detective to try and play it off like she 'accidentally' caught Korra's gaze.

"Whatever Mako, come on," Korra sighs then and it's one of the heaviest sighs Asami has ever heard in the world. She feels the pain seep out of the detective tenfold and what's left of Asami's heart collapses in on itself in a fresh wave of her own pain. Walls up or not, Korra will  **always**  affect her. "Get it over with."

Mako and Lin abruptly stand while Korra takes one last look at Asami and as if they were opposite ends of strong magnets, they're immediately pulled to each other. Korra stiffens again and the CEO swears—maybe hopes—that the detective still has feelings for her. But if they exist, Asami needs to stop hoping they do. It takes all of Asami's willpower to look away to make it look like an 'accident' again before she drowns in ocean blue.

A minute later, the door handle of the room jiggles a bit and the door swings wide open. Mako and Lin enter the room silently with looks so obscure that Asami starts to get a headache from trying to read them.

"Mako, Chief," Asami says, "What brings you to this side of town?" She tries to joke. Mako's lips press together to form an even thinner line but Lin seems to crack a hint of a smile. It's a small victory on Asami's part.

"Ms. Sato," Mako replies as he pulls out a chair and places himself across from her. Lin stays by the door, arms crossed and eyebrows scrunched so close together, they almost look like one.

"She prefers 'Asami,'" Asami hears the quiet admission from her favorite detective in the other room. She feels her lips start to curve upwards but she coughs to hide it.

Mako continues, "Do you know why you're here today?"

There's two ways to go about this: play dumb or just admit to everything. She should probably tell them everything that's going on: Red Lotus, the subjects, the other half of the story for her father's betrayal. Right, she'll just tell them everything, "No, I don't know why I'm here." The sentence comes as a shock to her more than the looks Mako and Lin's faces portray.

_Damn it, Sato. What's wrong with you?_

She shrugs, too late now, "Really, why am I here?" She decides to keep playing dumb. 'Innocent until proven guilty,' right?

Lin steps forward, pulling the first file out of the small stack in front of Mako. She opens to the first page and Asami notices it right away: it's the file the police compiled for Amon except they didn't have much so it only contains a few pages. She removes a page to place it in front of Asami. It's the blood sample results. She hides her surprise well, considering that the results show a certain type of blood that only people infused with Red Lotus nanobots have.

"What is this?" Asami asks. She peers closer to act like she's truly studying it.

"Blood results," Lin's gruff and commanding voice fills the room. But it doesn't sound angry or annoyed.

"Okay?" Asami drawls the last letters.

"It's your blood," Mako snaps and Asami can tell he has absolutely no patience for this bullshit.

"How is it my blood? Or better yet, I don't remember letting anyone draw blood from me," Asami defends.

"You're right," Mako says, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. Asami feels a victory building on her lips but it falls away immediately when Mako smirks, "but...when you were ten and your mother was sick, she needed a blood transfusion. You were the only possible match."

The blood drains from her face. She doesn't remember any of this or rather the moments she had lived through between the time of her mother's slowly deteriorating life and her last exhale of breath were moments she unsubtly chose to forget.

Oblivious to the painful memories slamming into Asami, Mako says, "It was odd though. When Korra fought with Amon she said that another person was there. And it must have been the adrenaline because she forgot to mention that the mysterious fighter's blood was blue. Now, we don't know what that means but it's a pretty unique trait."

Shit.

Asami knows she's fucked. She's truly, royally fucked. The nanobots in her system from Red Lotus have multiplied and divided themselves within her body. They took over her immune system and somehow they've taken over her red blood cells as well. It's kind of like that ugly black liquid she and Opal were studying in the secret lab beneath Future Industries. It contained crude and evil nanobots, making its solution black while the same can be applied to the nanobots within her own body.

So here's the thing: when she discovered the antique nanobots and fixed them up, she was unaware they were Red Lotus nanobots; when she invented and developed  **her**  nanobots she created them so they would be completely undetectable in any kind of inspection. Red Lotus, on the other hand, created their nanobots to be detected (so they could probably tell everyone in the world that it was them, like they're taking in pride in their work), hence the coloring of the blood. When Asami withdrew her blood for the first time, she found a faint blue hue in it. She assumed it was of little importance but she was so wrong. She tweaked and improved the Red Lotus nanobots too well and now they've completely implemented themselves in her system, marking her blood an obvious blue.

Basically, Red Lotus likes to make their nanobots visible while hers were invisible. Also, she fucked up and her stupid genius mind had worked too well.

"Another interesting point: when we ran the blue blood in the database, you came up as a complete match from your donation to your mother," Mako says. "We also got a hit from a case a few years ago which was a little blue at the time. So, I think you're here because you're being charged on two accounts with first-degree murder. I mean it's just a guess."

Asami furrows her brows until she realizes that Mako is being sarcastic. It sparks rage within her.  **She**  saves the city while everyone else is asleep.  **She**  protects those who can't protect themselves.  **She**  never asked for anything in return. Sure, she  **killed**  people but there's no need to be so fucking rude, Mako.

Lin notices the anger building within the CEO so she places a firm hand on Mako's shoulder, "We're taking a break. We'll visit you later to ask more questions, Sato."

Mako starts to protest but Lin continues to usher him out of the room. Once the door is closed, Asami can hear Lin berating Mako for his audacity, "You fucking idiot! Since when do we start acting like kids in the interrogation room?! Go back to your desk and stay there until I come back!" Even if she's angry, the command Lin gives Mako is so childlike that Asami's lips twitch in glee. Despite Mako's continued protests, Asami hears the dragging of feet tapering off down the hall. She sighs once the sounds outside die down and silence envelops her again.

Except...

Korra's heart is beating rapidly against her chest right outside the door to the interrogation room. Asami was too busy being angry to notice she had moved but now she's scared of what the detective might say when she enters. The door handle rattles and Asami braces herself. It swings open to reveal the detective. There are dark circles under her bloodshot eyes. Her breathing is ragged and her fists are balled up against her sides.

But gods, she's still so beautiful.

"Korra, I—"

"Don't," Korra interrupts. Her body tenses, every muscle contracting to press against the white button up. The room fills with silence for a few long moments. Finally, Korra inhales and exhales slowly, "You killed people. Thirty-six people. You're a serial killer. You're the Invisible Hunter."

Asami feels a fresh cut with every truth Korra mutters. But once the detective says the last word, she strides out of the room only to be replaced by the very rough officer from earlier. She's escorted to a different, more isolated cell and left alone to her own devices.

* * *

Korra visits two days later. She looks worse than yesterday. The once pristine button-up now looks thrown on haphazardly with wrinkles sporting every inch of its surface. She carries a tray that Asami knows has food on it that she won't be eating because—let's be real for a moment—the food here is bland, tough, and scratches her throat when she tries to swallow down the dry, barely chewed up pieces. So nope, the food is a hard pass for Asami.

But when Korra walks up to Asami and places the metal tray in front of the CEO, she notices it's Water Tribe food. Asami widens her eyes, her mouth visibly waters, and her stomach screams at her for starving herself for the past two days. The detective cooked this herself, besides she doesn't think there's such a thing as Water Tribe prison food. She catches Korra's lips twitch but she chooses not to dwell on what that might mean. She has stop giving herself false hope or she'll never survive the pain Korra continues to show.

"Why are you here?" Asami spits out. Shit. She doesn't want to be rude; she doesn't mean to be. Korra is the last person who deserves such an attitude.

"I noticed you weren't eating. So, eat."

Asami shakes her head, "No, I'm still in custody; the same as anyone else in here so I'll eat what they eat. Or not eat, in my case. The food's shit."

Korra rolls her eyes, "Just eat...please?"

It's not a command anymore, it's a plea. An actual cry for the health and safety of the CEO. Asami can't form any words. Nothing of gratitude or continued stubbornness. Korra is standing right in front of her, pleading for her to eat even if she must feel so angry and so fucking hurt. Asami shoves down her pride and reaches for the fork.

Once Asami swallows her first bite and starts to reach for another, Korra moves further into the cell. The detective eases herself onto the bed opposite from Asami. Korra looks fragile but not too fragile where she'll snap in half at the touch of a feather. But she's not the headstrong, spirited detective Asami's familiar with either. There's a bubble of pain, stress, and definitely anger surrounding Korra. It's built with bullet-proof glass: Korra can see through it but she's unwilling to let anyone pass.

Asami realizes this is Korra's version of her walls. It's almost physical, forming a protective aura around the detective. The CEO wants to break it; she wants to build the most powerful machine in the world and  **break it**  so she can embrace  **her**  once again. But she knows Korra won't allow that to happen. They won't go down, no matter how strong of a machine Asami builds.

Korra waits for Asami to finish the food on the tray, then picks it up and leaves without another word.

Asami clutches her stomach as she moves up the bed so her back is against the metal wall. She's still in her outfit for the date and the metal wall is even colder than the night before. She shivers but she's aware it's not from the temperature.

It's been four days since her arrest. Asami Sato falls asleep with nightmares of a heartbroken detective.

* * *

She's surprised to see Korra again the next day, carrying another tray of food. Asami doesn't fight her this time.

* * *

She doesn't fight Korra the next day either, or the day after that, or even a week after she was arrested.

Asami doesn't question this behavior. Call her selfish but she's just happy to even see the detective, heartbroken or not.

Throughout the days, Korra starts to look better. Asami notices it two weeks after her arrest.

She can  **smell**  Korra the second the elevator doors open to the hallway. Korra approaches smelling like the sun, the ocean, plumerias at night, and every favorite smell of Asami's. She smells like the old Korra again. Asami wants to crack a smile when the detective arrives in front of her cell but it would reveal her super sense of smell and that's not something she wants to tell the detective yet. Besides, she doesn't know if that's an okay thing to do right now. So, she opts for the racing of her still shattered heart and it hurts with every beat because she hurt Korra and Korra still painfully shows it.

They don't talk much during Korra's visits. There was one day when Mako and Lin visited her but they didn't take her to the interrogation room and they didn't step foot inside the cell. Instead, they questioned her outside of it.

"Why is your blood blue?"

Silence.

"Why did you kill all those people?"

Silence.

"Who is Red Lotus?"

Silence.

The day after the informal interrogation, Korra brings Asami a new dish. It smells fishy and salty, just like the sea. "New recipe," Korra explains, "thought you'd be my guinea pig."

For Korra? Anything.

But being her anything means swallowing the disgusting concoction of fermented fish, cabbage, and ridiculously hard rice. She does all that she can to hide the grimace but Korra knows Asami well enough to notice the change in her facial features right away.

"Is it that bad?"

Asami violently shakes her head but oh, that makes it worse. She can feel the bile forming already. Korra takes Asami's spoon and picks up a bite. She watches Korra as she chews thoughtfully then swallows the substance. She frowns, "Yeah, sorry. It tastes like shit, doesn't it?"

Asami starts to say no but then Korra laughs. She  **laughs**  and it's a real one. The sound that Asami craved to hear. It's a melody that filled her ears then sang its way into her shattered heart, picking up a single piece to put back into place. She feels something similar climbing up her throat but she doesn't know if laughing with Korra will break the lighthearted mood filling her cell right now. It's like walking on eggshells so she decides that a small grin will suffice.

It apparently does because Korra takes one look at Asami and laughs even harder. Her guffaws and sharp inhales for air consumes the atmosphere only to echo outside into the hallway.

"You—" Korra tries to say but another song of sweet, sweet laughter snatches her words away.

Asami's grin grows wider and Korra's volume increases. She has no idea what she's doing but she's going to keep doing it. Because that sound is so damn  **delicious**  that she wants to go to a recording studio and engrave them into a vinyl.

"Your teeth! There's cabbage in your teeth!" Korra finally gasps out.

Asami frowns, the grin quickly falling away. Really? Cabbage in my teeth makes you laugh that hard? She hastily picks at her teeth but there's no mirror in here so she can't see where it's at. She huffs in frustration, earning snickers from Korra.

"Yes," Asami's eyes widen because she had said that thought aloud, "because you're just so...perfect all the damn time that I was beginning to wonder when something like that would happen to you," Korra immediately slaps a hand to her mouth, her eyes looking like they're scolding her mouth for letting those words escape. Asami listens to the erratic rhythm of Korra's heart and she worries for a second that Korra might have an arrhythmia too.

But before Asami can respond, Korra snatches the tray out of her hands and leaves, slamming the cell door shut.

**_Perfect_ ** _. She said I'm perfect. All the time._

A match lights within Asami's chest. It illuminates a tiny portion of the room. She can see a piece of her heart, lying next to the small flame. Knowing where the piece goes, she picks it up and secures it into place.

Two pieces. Maybe...

* * *

Korra doesn't visit for the next two days and Asami is struggling to hold those two pieces in place. That spark of hope is starting to dim and she curses herself for even allowing it to ignite. She shouldn't have been grasping for any indication that the detective has forgiven her.

She shouldn't have hoped.

The flame dwindles, having no one around to feed it more wood. It's starting to get cold and dark again but the pieces are still there, hanging by their pinkies.

Four days after the cabbage incident, Korra finally visits. She smells like the old Korra again. Standing tall and wearing a maroon button-up that looks oddly like the same shade Future Industries uses. The bullet-proof glass still surrounds Korra but she confidently walks in, metal tray in her hands.

Upon Korra's arrival, Asami can't help the way the flame flickers back to life like a family's lost puppy finally returning home. The poor room must be exhausted from igniting then extinguishing then igniting the flame again; on and off, on and off. She can't help herself. The detective  **does things**  to her.

The metal tray is placed in front of her and Asami shamelessly attacks it. She hasn't eaten in four days, hasn't showered in about three weeks, and still hasn't changed her clothes. Pride is ignored as the intoxicating smell of food wafts to fill her nose. She's so busy eating that she doesn't notice Korra's eyes soften (the way they used to) and her lips quirking into a small smile.

She feels like a rabid animal when she finishes the food within minutes. But she tries to keep a sense of decorum and takes the napkin from the tray to pat her lips.

Korra chuckles, "Come on, I'll get you a change of clothes and let you shower."

Asami sighs with relief. She can already feel the grime sticking to her, forming a second skin. She's pretty sure if she ran a fingernail down her arm, she'd be able to pick up the dirt and still not be able to see her pale skin underneath.

**_Ew_ ** _._

"You have to tell me your secret first," Korra says, holding up a hand halting Asami.

Asami tenses, the walls shoot up on their own volition. It's just instinct but she should really tell Korra everything. Korra might just understand or maybe she won't because Asami  **killed**  people...in cold-blood. She should tell her she's enhanced by nanobots and what the blue blood means. She should tell her what Red Lotus did and why her father-

"You haven't showered in almost a month, yet you don't smell bad. If anything, you smell like...vanilla...and honey."

Asami frowns, confused but also relieved that  **the**  truth wasn't what Korra was asking for, "That's-uh-" she had no idea she smelled like a concoction of sugar. Honestly, she thought she smelled like asparagus pee mixed with rotten cheese. But hey, if she smells like vanilla and honey after almost a month of no showering? Hell, she'll take it. Asami shrugs and waits for Korra to let her pass.

The detective pauses for a moment seemingly believing that Asami really had a secret to why she smelled so good but eventually let's her pass, "Down the hall, last entrance on your right."

It's a locker room, of sorts. It actually looks nice and doesn't look at all like a prison locker room. Then again, she's not actually in prison; she's at the police headquarters but still, it's suspiciously too nice.

Lin is waiting by a bench close to the showers, "You're a VIP," she explains when she sees the confused look on Asami's face. "Criminal or not, you did help with the funding for the police department."

Oh.

But...

Asami glares, "That's not fair for the rest of the prisoners."

The Chief sighs, "Listen Sato, I don't know the whole story yet but you've helped a lot of people in this city. Just take the damn hospitality and shower."

Asami reluctantly obeys, heading to the first shower. There's no privacy curtain, "Do you guys have to watch me?"

Korra's cheeks redden and she scratches the back of her neck, "We'll turn around but we have to stay here. Sorry."

So she eagerly showers, watching the dirt fall down and disappear into the drain. The feel of the soap invigorates her and she sighs contently. While she's rinsing she talks to the backs of the Chief and the detective, finally voicing the idea she's formed over the past few weeks, "I want to make a deal with you. I'll tell you everything but I want to ask for the police's help in return."

Korra whirls around, forgetting that Asami is still naked. She lets out an adorable squeak as the red color of her cheeks blends with her dark skin. She opens her mouth only to close it then opens her mouth again to stare at the lithe form of the CEO. Asami is not ashamed of her body but rather extremely proud because well, she worked hard for it and she might be cheating a little with her nanobots.  **Still** , she can feel pieces of her heart falling back into place.

Lin reaches out a hand to grab Korra by the elbow and spins her back around. Lin clears her throat, "Why do you want our help?"

Asami shuts off the water and starts to towel herself off, "After I tell you what I know, you're going to want to help."

* * *

Korra, Lin, and Mako all sit across from Asami in the interrogation room. They stare her down, wearing different emotions on their faces. Asami fingers the long sleeve of the orange jumpers every potential prisoner has to wear, feeling nervous but she has no idea why. Korra still looks pained but her curiosity quickly overshadows it, Lin is impassive as always yet her back is rigid and her undivided attention is directed towards the CEO. And finally, Mako, who's still scowling and attempting to send her angry death glares. He fails.

"So, who is Red Lotus?" Lin asks, leaning forward to place her knuckles under her chin.

Asami sighs, playing with the single braid she fixed her hair into while collecting her thoughts.

She tells Lin and the detectives about Red Lotus as a company. She tells them of all the technological advances and inventions they created to help the world. She decides to withhold Hiroshi's involvement for now, hoping that Opal was able to control the information the police found at the most recent lab.

"Wait, they sound...nice. Like they genuinely wanted to help the world," Mako's scowl disappears for now, replacing it with furrowed brows and a hand to run his chin.

"They are—er, were," Asami says. "This was how Red Lotus was as a company."

Lin nods, "We found out they were a company about 80 years ago but we never knew what they did. That's a complete turnaround from what they're doing now."

"Well, that's all because of one man: Dr. Sozin," Asami explains. "He worked for Red Lotus the company. Did some pretty messed up stuff, like selling secrets to enemy nations. He formed the terrorist group a few years after the company went bankrupt."

"I don't understand why you would need our help though," Korra says, standing up straighter: a small challenge to the CEO. But Asami isn't offended by it. If anything, she respects the detective for still holding onto her skepticism.

"I know what Red Lotus is doing and I think I know what they're planning too," Asami responds. Everyone's eyebrows shoot up, raising unspoken questions about her loyalty to the city. Asami would've scoffed at them questioning such dedication but she realizes that the way she said her last words made her seem like she was part of Red Lotus too. Technically, she was but not in their 'let's take over the world' scheme; more like, 'I have these stupid fucking foreign nanobots that Red Lotus invented and they're not  **good**. I repeat, **not good**.'

"Well?" Mako demands, his patience must be running very thin. Asami swears she can see streaks of white in his hair just from the stress and frustration the CEO has provided for them over the past month. She gives herself a small pat on the back internally for making Mako so frustrated.

"Remember those fuc—messed up bodies from the labs? With the black stuff on them?" Asami meets every person's eyes as she asks the question. They dip their heads in unison. "The black stuff is a nanobot solution. Have you heard of nanobots before?"

The room is silent, giving Asami the answer she expected, "Nanobots are basically these very tiny robots that can be integrated into your body to either enhance or destroy."

A small gasp leaves Korra's lips, "Is that what Amon had?"

"Yes."

"Wait...but...," Korra starts but Asami already knows what she's going to ask.

"Yes, I was there too. And yes, I have nanobots too but they're not Red Lotus!" She quickly assures but inside she's screaming at herself, ' **Liar!** ' "I created the nanobots to heal my injuries while on...uh missions."

Curious looks don their faces making Asami suddenly feel very small.

"There's something you need to know about those people...that have died," Asami says.

Mako, Korra and Lin all wait patiently for Asami's explanation of her crimes. Although she didn't entirely confess to killing the subjects...yet.

"Thirty-six criminals. They were enhanced with Red Lotus nanobots."

Sharp intakes of breaths spread into the room. Asami refuses to meet anyone's eye, staring straight ahead at the wall in front of her.

"At first, I didn't know they were Red Lotus. They were criminals. Rapists, thieves, murderers. The ones who targeted children hit me the most. I can't stand by and watch them hurt innocent people. It was painful. I couldn't—," Asami sighs deeply, rubbing a hand over her face, "I couldn't just let it happen. I was watching the city crumble from within, I had to do something." She curses herself for basically confessing but the actual words never leave her mouth. She still doesn't meet anyone's eye but if she had, she'd see that the three of them have all sported looks of gratitude although Korra is still hurt from Asami's betrayal.

"Anyway," Asami sighs again, feeling just how exhausted she is, "I think Red Lotus is using that black liquid to make some kind of superhuman. Worse than what Amon was enhanced with. All those bodies you found, those are their failed experiments."

"Is this where we come in?" Korra asks.

"Yes, when I find the Red Lotus headquarters, I'm asking for your help in taking them down...once and for all," Asami replies.

Lin stands abruptly, "Excuse us." And proceeds to usher out the confused pair.

Asami leans back in her chair with another heavy exhale. She misses Opal and her company. All she wants to do right now is go back to the loft and sink into a bath because the shower felt rushed. Maybe she'll even train a bit. Opal will cook her lunch, forcing her to eat more greens than delicious greasy food. She'll come in to work and greet every single one of her employees. An impromptu party will be thrown in for good measure, allowing her to mingle with everyone and their children. The children are the best part, especially the young ones. Some of the older ones who are freshly graduated out of college would probably approach her, asking for a job opportunity and she's not one to turn down someone she helped put through college. Asami smiles a small one, feeling slightly better and lighter than she did a month ago.

Lin returns but without Korra and Mako, "Alright. Here's the deal:  **you**  help  **us**  take down Red Lotus then we'll talk about the charges." The look on Lin's face looked more like gratitude and kind of was saying 'I'm already letting you go.'

But Asami learned her lesson in getting her hopes up. Instead, she acquiesces and doesn't argue with Lin about  **her**  helping  **them**. "Should I stay here then?" Asami asks.

"No, but one or all of us will have to be with you until you find Red Lotus," Lin replies. She swats the air in front of her face. "Sorry, Asami but we can't let you out of our sight, even if we are—technically—letting you go...for now."

Better than being holed up in here.

"Okay, I'd like to show you guys something then. But please let me shower properly and change my clothes," Asami begs.

"Fine," Lin says with a chuckle, "but like I said—"

"—one or all of us has to be with me," Asami groans, "I know."

* * *

"Opal?" Asami calls as soon as the door to her loft is open. Korra, Mako, and Lin are just parking so she quickly places a hand on the Invisible lock. She uses her vision to search the training room and sighs in relief when she finds the training room empty. The voices of the police and their echoing steps jolt her mind to turn her vision back to normal. She quickly locks, hides, and steps away from the training room door.

Discreetly, she uses her enhanced vision again to search the house for any signs of her best friend but there's no trace of her. Asami frowns and looks in the direction of Opal's room but it looks cleaned out, as if no one lived there in the first place. She isn't sure what to feel: relief or panic when she can't find Opal. She hopes it's the former because she doesn't even want to think about what might happen if Red Lotus had captured her. "Give me a moment? I just need to call my secretary and make sure everything is okay with the company." More like 'I need to call my best friend and make sure  **she's**  okay.'

Asami steps into the kitchen where she finds her phone sitting on the counter. The thin metal is cold to the touch as she swipes across the screen to unlock it. She speed dials Opal's number and brings the phone to her ear. She hasn't even finished pressing it to her ear when Opal picks up in the middle of the first ring.

"Asami?!"

"Oh thank gods."

"Shit, Asami! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, how is everything? How are you?  **Where**  are you?"

She hears Opal heave a relieved sigh, "Well, when the police rolled up to the front door a month ago, I was in the training room. You were smart to lock me in there, I was really close to running up to you. But after they searched the loft and left, I went upstairs to gather my things. I wasn't sure when you were going to come back and it felt weird to be at the loft without you." Opal's voice wavers on her last sentence.

"Hey, I'm okay. They're the cops, they wouldn't torture me or anything," Asami scoffs.

A light laugh filters through, tugging at Asami's lips, "Anyway, I moved back to my apartment and I've been taking care of Future Industries. Don't worry, Asami, I got you." She can just imagine Opal winking.

"I know I just got back but did you crack that hard drive from the last lab?"

"Yes." Opal pauses, "I know where they're are."

"Good. Because I got the police's help."

"You what?!"

Asami shrugs even though Opal isn't physically with her, "I told them about Red Lotus and they want to help in return for my freedom—sorry  **possible**  freedom."

"Did you tell them everything?"

"Gods, no. I kept Hiroshi out so I really hope you were able to control the information the police were able to uncover."

"Actually, I did. You're in luck, Sato."

Asami grins, "One last mission?"

"Asami, they're going to let you go, okay? I know it."

Asami sighs, "You don't know that for sure. Come on, I need my best friend by my side."

"Well," Opal drawls, "when you put it that way...I guess?" But Opal's tone is already saying yes and is already back to teasing her.

"Asshole," Asami says.

"You love me."

A smile graces the CEO's features making her feel just that little bit more at ease, "Goodbye, Opal. I'll call you later."

The two detectives and the Chief occupy themselves in the living room while Asami rushes up the stairs to shower. Fifteen minutes later, Asami steps out of the elevator looking clean and feeling much like her old self.

It's only five in the afternoon so Asami asks that they stick around at the loft for a few more hours, still withholding the true destination.

While they wait, Lin offers to cook dinner and Mako stands to help while Asami tentatively takes a seat next to Korra.

As soon as she sits down, she's delightfully overwhelmed by the scent of the detective. She takes a deep inhale, wanting to commit this smell to memory then slowly exhales through her nose.

"You still killed people," Korra says quietly. Asami can still feel the protective wall around Korra, even if her scent is wafting through.

Asami stays quiet, only focusing on her breathing. Korra isn't wrong but she did kill them with all the right intentions. It was to keep the city safe,  **her**  city safe. Even when Republic City turned its back on her, she didn't give up. She rose to the top and gave back. She hopes Korra will understand. Understand that she did this to keep everyone alive.

"I—I don't know if I can forgive you," Korra says, her eyes filling with the pain of Asami's betrayal, "I don't even know if I want to forgive you."

Asami nods but not without feeling a pang within her chest. She tries to swallow the lump in her throat but the lump is too big. It's widening like it's alive and growing with every passing moment that Korra isn't hers. It's blocking her airways, refusing to give her oxygen. She wonders if Korra feels the same, if she has this same lump in her throat that's expanding exponentially every moment that Asami isn't Korra's. But she urgently pushes the thought away and into the back of her mind, not even giving her heart the chance to feel the hope that was soon to follow.

* * *

"Before we go in, this is perfectly legal. Just...not everyone knows about it and I hate to ask but please keep it that way," Asami says as soon as they arrive in the Future Industries parking garage. The two detectives and the Chief of police exchange curious looks but otherwise keep quiet as they follow the CEO into Future Industries.

"Miss Sato?! Is that you?" A voice at the front desk fills the quiet void of the empty building. Another man at the desk jerks his head up at the mention of his boss's name. The owner of the voice is already walking around the security desk, engulfing Asami in a bear hug that feels a lot like one of Bolin's.

"Hey, Yang. Hi, Tsu," Asami says sheepishly. The abrupt display of affection catches her off guard but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't touched. "I'm okay."

"Thank gods! I was so worried about you! We all were!" Tsu, the man who called out her name quickly does a once over on Asami, making sure she's not hurt at all. He peers over her shoulder and notices the police. He starts to glare as he says, "You guys didn't hurt her did you?"

Korra, Mako, and Lin are taken aback by the straightforward question. Asami's back is turned to the police so she effectively hides the grin on her face. Tsu and Yang, who are twins, have always been like this: protective of the CEO as if she were their own little sister. Yang offers her a conspiratorial wink so she knows that Tsu is only teasing.

""Uh—uhm," Korra stutters, scratching the back of her head, "no we didn't."

"Good," Tsu replies but he still takes two fingers and gestures to his eyes and then points them at the police. He finally turns back to Asami and places his hands gently on her shoulders. "We're glad you're alright. Maybe you could visit tomorrow during normal business hours to tell everyone you're okay?"

"Uh," Asami glances back at the three behind her and Lin gives her a subtle nod, "sure! I'll see you guys tomorrow then? Tell the rest of the night crew."

"Yes, ma'am," Yang replies. He had finally left his post to step up to Asami, giving her a brief and less intense hug. "Headed downstairs?" He whispers, low enough so only she can hear. Asami nods, "Be safe."

"Always am, Yang. Always am," Asami says, giving the two of them a dismissive wave. She leads the police towards the elevator and ushers them inside.

"That was—" Mako says but pauses as if he isn't really sure what to say about their exchange, "nice."

"Sorry," Asami says, starting to press the buttons of the elevator, "they were just worried."

"Uh, Asami, you're not taking us on a tour of Future Industries are you? Because that's a lot of floors," Korra says from the back of the elevator.

Asami shoots Korra a smirk while pressing the final button in her sequence. The button panel for the floors and the tv above it slides away, a fingerprint and iris scanner replaces them. Asami leans forward with her right eye and places her hand on the scanner. It only takes a second and then a female monotone voice fills the elevator, "Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light."

"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night," Asami responds.

The fingerprint and iris scanner slide away so the panel and tv can fall back into place. The female voice speaks again, "Good evening, Asami." The elevator finally whirs to life and begins its climb down to the secret lab.

Asami doesn't need to look back at the three people behind her because she sees the reflection of their mouths open on the metal door. She hides the smirk and feeling of badass-ery by standing taller and straighter, making her look regal.

"Are you a spy?" Mako finally says, filling the pregnant silence that was previously consuming the three of them.

"No, just very protective of where I keep all of my expensive stuff," Asami says with a chuckle, opting for the answer she gave Opal when she asked the same thing. "Also, sit tight for a few minutes, it's a long way down."

"That's so cool," Mako murmurs.

The elevator begins to slow five minutes later and the doors finally open to reveal the lab. Asami strides in exactly the same way she did before: completely at ease. Korra, Mako, and Lin however, have the same reaction as Opal...more or less.

Mako is experiencing the exact same thing as Opal, Lin takes her reaction quietly while observing the room, and Korra...Korra, on the other hand, is looking straight at Asami with what can only be described as respect and pride. The wall is still up though, making Asami sigh internally.

"Like I said," Asami explains, "it's all completely legal. I pay the bills for the electricity and everything."

"Don't worry, Sato," Lin says, eyeing the waterfall in front of them, "I don't think we'd ever take this away from you."

"Yeah," Mako agrees, "this place is awesome! And beautiful! Korra, look! There's a bar here!" He runs to the bar and moves around so he could stand behind it, "It's fully stocked!"

Asami laughs, soaking in the lightheartedness of Mako's antics, "Help yourself."

As Mako starts to make a drink, Lin steps up to Asami and says, "So, what're we doing here, Sato?"

"Oh! Uh—actually I was going to stay here until I can find Red Lotus," Asami lies.

What? She wants to have the day with Future Industries tomorrow, Red Lotus can wait one more day, damn it.

Lin nods, "Then one or all of us will have to stay here. And from the looks of it," she sighs, "I think it'll be all of us."

"The more the merrier!" Asami says, happily and it's real. She wouldn't even know where to begin, being down here all alone. She'd get so  **bored**. "There are rooms down that hall, pick any of them but I doubt you'd want to go too far so just stick close to the entrance. If you want the game room or the tv, just let me know and I'll bring it up."

"Game room?!" Mako cries incredulously. He rushes out from behind the bar, all but running up to the CEO. He starts to plead with his eyes.

With a laugh, Asami turns to the table and places a hand on it to bring up the number pad. She enters the code and waits for the game room to pop up from the floor. It slowly rises to view where the microscope had risen only a few days prior. Mako stands at the edge, already bouncing on his toes. As soon as it locks into view, Korra and Mako race inside. Their cries of joy and excitement echo out from the open door.

Lin groans while running a hand down her face, "They're such kids."

"But they're your  **best**  detectives, Chief," Asami says with a wink.

"Unfortunately."

* * *

The next day, Asami rides the elevator with the police up to the first floor of Future Industries during lunchtime. It's quiet on the first floor, save for the the two security officers at the front desk. They react the same way Yang and Tsu did last night. When they finally let her go, Asami requests for them to order food: pizza, Chinese, hell, a whole buffet from wherever they can. She tells them to order whatever they'd like as well since they'd be stuck at the front desk but neither officer seemed to mind. Asami hands them her company credit card and finally leads the police towards the commons.

The commons is large and feels more like a summer camp eating grounds than a cafeteria. A playground sits in the corner where the children in daycare spend their lunches with the adults. A cafe is at the far end of the room along with a kitchen that has been discreetly told not to cook anything today.

All of Future Industries, except for the two security officers, is gathered in the commons. A confused murmur dances amongst them while a few growling stomachs could be heard. Asami chuckles and finally announces her presence. It takes one person on the outskirts of the crowd to yell out, "Ms. Sato!" for everyone in the room to collectively turn their heads like they're watching a tennis match. It then takes one second for the information to settle and the crowd suddenly erupts into cheers. The ones on the outskirts take advantage of their position and immediately engulf her in hugs or touch her shoulder. As she passes through the crowd, leaving the police at the door, every person reaches out for her like a well-loved queen who has finally graced the people with her presence. She reaches the front of the room where a small raised platform resides which normally houses live bands or open-mic nights during their company gatherings.

"Hi everyone!" Asami greets.

The crowd respond in unison to her greeting.

"I just want you guys to know that I'm okay and Detectives Korra and Mako and Chief Lin Beifong of the police department are going to join us today!"

A murmur of disapproval runs through the crowd but Asami is quick to reassure, "Guys, don't worry. I'm fine and everything is okay. Please treat them like one of our own."

The crowd finally acquiesces and a comfortable silence fills the room while Asami takes in the faces of her beloved employees and their children. The crowd then starts to part, leaving Asami bewildered but only for a second because Opal suddenly leaps into her arms with a squeal. She's strong enough to make sure they don't fall to the floor but other than that, she couldn't be happier to finally see her best friend again. The embrace lasts as long as it needs to while the crowd cheer for their interim CEO and actual CEO.

"We've missed you," Opal says and then whispers, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Opal," Asami whispers. "We'll talk in a sec okay, the police are here."

Opal gives her a nod and they both turn back to the crowd. Asami steps forward, "I'm giving you all a half day today and I've ordered food for everyone. So...go home after lunch!"

The crowd cheers again and finally depart to find seats while they wait for the food. Asami motions for the police to sit at the CEO's table but she holds Opal by her so she can talk shop with her best friend.

"I brought them down to the lab," Asami says once the police have found their seats (which is a good distance away from the stage).

"You what?!" Opal hisses, "Really, Asami, that's twice in a row you've done something stupid."

Asami rolls her eyes, "Oh come on, it was either there or back at the loft in the training room. Besides, I didn't want them to see the nanobot tank or the weapons in the loft. At least not yet."

"Fine," Opal grumbles, "so what's the plan then?"

"I want you to send your information to the lab. I have to make it look like I found where Red Lotus is hiding. I don't want them to know about you too, Opal. You could be charged with like, accessory to murder or something."

Opal starts to protest, "But Asami—"

"But nothing, Opal. If they do end up charging me, I'm not taking you down with me. Besides, someone has to look over them," Asami says and gestures to the now seated crowd scattered around them. Her hand lands on the playground where children are squealing happily.

Opal's eyes begin to water, "I know, it just...it sucks and it hurts. I don't want you to go Asami. No one does."

"I know," Asami says soothingly, "I'm doing my best. Anyway, I have ear pieces at the lab so just go to the training room and we can connect through there. I want you with me every step of the way when we go after Red Lotus."

"Okay, Asami," Opal says, placing a soft hand on her arm. Both their eyes are glassy but the tears don't fall, "Stay safe." Opal can't say much else because the food arrives.

* * *

With lunch over and more than half of the building empty, Asami leads the police back downstairs to the lab. Opal had snuck away to leave the information on Red Lotus in the lab so Asami sits down at the table and enters the code to make the glass wall turn into a screen.

"I want to show you guys something," Asami says once they've gathered around the screen. Pressing another button, she replays a recording of the black nanobots solution. The screen fills to show the active nanobots. Asami points to a section of the solution which displays all the various actions each nanobot is performing.

"What is this?" Korra asks, stepping closer.

"It looks like the black stuff on those bodies we found at the labs," Mako says.

"It is. I think this is what Red Lotus is trying to perfect at the moment. They were able to perfect Amon's and all the previous Subject's nanobots but not these. That's why there are all those bodies in the labs, they've been unsuccessful and just dumping the bodies in metal drawers."

Lin inhales sharply through her teeth, "What makes you think they're trying to make super humans?"

"Well, structure determines function in anatomy," Asami explains. "The nanobots I invented are made to enhance so they're simple and made out of graphene. The nanobots in this solution," she points to the black filling the screen, "are all doing different things, all at the same time. It's more like they're trying to make a human  **into**  a super weapon. Red Lotus's mistake is having all these nanobots perform different things at the same time so they're all probably made from different materials. These various forms of nanobots are clashing so much that they end up killing the person rather than turning them into a weapon."

Asami sees Korra gulp and realizes that the detective is genuinely scared. I mean who wouldn't be, there were far too many bodies covered in that black liquid in the labs.

"Hey, we'll get them guys," Asami says finally taking in the looks on Lin and Mako. She's surprised that even the Chief is scared. All Asami receives in response is a disheartened nod from each.

"Anyway, I also had a program running while we were upstairs with everyone," Asami explains. Only Asami knows that it's a lie but the police seem to buy it. I mean, she  **does**  have a genius mind after all. "I think this is where Red Lotus is."

The screen flickers to show an overview map of Republic City and its surroundings. She finds the Red Lotus symbol and zooms in on that area.

"They're in the desert," Lin observes.

"Yeah, they're most likely underground because I'm sure someone would've reported some kind of building in the middle of the desert by now," Asami says.

"We should strike tonight," Mako suggests.

"I agree," Asami nods, "but can you get people on such short notice?"

Mako scoffs, "Of course."

Asami side-eyes Mako who isn't even paying attention to the CEO. She hears Korra stifle a giggle and her heart flutters.

_Stop it, heart._

"It's settled then," Lin says, clasping her hands together behind her back while staring at the screen. "Mako, inform everyone, we're heading out tonight to finish Red Lotus...once and for all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two lines are from the poem: The Old Astronomer by Sarah Williams.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! Your comments and kudos seriously mean the world to me.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I did borrow a line from a certain awesome movie (Deadpool). I do not own any copyrights nor will I try to take credit for the line. This will probably have one more chapter and then an epilogue. This is from Korra’s POV, sorry if it’s a bit confusing!

 

_No, no, no. This can't be happening. I mean, I know she killed people but..._

Asami looks entirely malicious, an expression Korra has never seen before. It shakes her down to the core. Every ounce of blood, of hope leaves her body. Asami would never do this right? She'd never turn on them. On her city. She gave so much to  **us**.  ** _To me_**. And Korra had found her heart beating in tandem with the detective. It may have lost its rhythm when she found out who Asami really was. But during her visits, Korra was slowly opening up again; her heart starting to beat with Asami's again. Except she couldn't let it show...not yet. After all, she's a detective and has worked undercover for many cases so she knows how to hide things well. And when it's necessary, especially her feelings.

It felt like everything was going to finally be okay. That ominous rain cloud above their heads would slowly part and beams of sunlight would burst through, lighting the landscape making Republic City safe...once they'd taken care of Red Lotus. And it was all thanks to Asami that the city hasn't fallen by now. Asami loves her city, or so Korra thought.

Because now, Asami is reaching for Dr. Sozin's outstretched hand. They're about to agree on something. Korra wasn't able to catch the beginning of it but she caught the end.

"Work  **with**  me, complete your father's work."

* * *

**FIVE HOURS EARLIER**

"This is where we enter? How do you know?" Korra asks incredulously.

Asami points to a map with an overview of the Red Lotus headquarters. There are colored dots around the outline of the building. Asami begins to explain, "This is a map of their electronic activity, like where most of their energy is directed. I repositioned one of Future Industries's satellites so we could get a proper read on it."

"You have satellites too?!" Mako cries. It's not a real cry. Actually, his tone sounds awed.

Asami shrugs, "I needed them for the cellphones and technology we invented."

Korra watches Asami closely. She's not boasting about all the technology she's made over the past few years. Far from it, Korra thinks she's actually very modest with them. She's more determined to keep her city safe, make it thrive. That's obvious in all of the inventions she's put out into the market: the tv, the cellphones, Satomobiles. In a roundabout way, Asami has been helping Republic City grow and develop into what it is now: one of the most strongly connected cities in the world. Shit, she even donates a lot of money to charities and from what Korra could see, she treats her employees extremely well. Korra feels a bit of pride bloom in her chest but quickly pushes it down.

Now's not the time.

The two detectives, the Chief of police, Asami, and a few other team leaders are all gathered around the large table in Asami's secret lab. They decided to have the final briefing here to have the assurance that no one was listening. On such short notice, Mako was able to round up about fifty of them. It's decent but not as big of a force Korra expected.

"I have a really strong feeling that this place is going to be heavily guarded so we have to navigate it slowly," Asami says.

They don't have the internal blueprints of the headquarters, only overhead pictures taken from a heap of metal orbiting in space. They'll have to make do; they can do this.

Asami places a slender finger on an outline of the building. It's the west side of the headquarters with a large, darker dot over a part of the outline, "Like I said, that's the place that has the most electricity redirected to. This is the entrance, I just know it."

No one questions Asami's confidence. Maybe it's because of her genius mind or maybe because of the fact that there's physical evidence of the Red Lotus headquarters and Asami had been the one to discover it.

"Any questions?" Asami asks, looking up to meet the eyes of everyone gathered.

No one says anything, of course, because what would they add? There's an air of anxiousness surrounding the table. Everyone gathered shuffles nervously every few moments. They're running into this blind and it's frightening. This could very well be the last time anyone sees the sunlight or loved ones for that matter.

Korra risks another glance at Asami. She's wearing her Invisible Hunter suit but it's been modified. The normal long sleeves forming and fitting her body tighter than in that basketball stadium. Her mask is gone and her hair flows freely down her shoulders. It feels like she's finally being open. No longer having to hide behind a mask. The secret is out.

Korra wonders how Asami plans to attack anyone with her bare hands but she's seen her in action. Well, it was more like a blur...so on second thought, Korra has no idea how Asami fights. Are there knives? Are there guns? Does she really just use her bare fists? What's it like to spar with her? Korra knows she'd probably lose to Asami.

Watching Asami's muscles flex or twitch every time she moves causes the arousal to crash through Korra incessantly. And sure, she's buff as well but seeing the strong and lithe form of Asami distracts Korra from thinking logically. Asami's wearing slim black gloves and her belt is (oh, that's where they are) filled to the brim with gadgets. Would one wrong move cause any explosive gadget on that belt to go off? What if the enemy uses that against us? The questions run a marathon in Korra's mind. Each question bringing about another question and then another. Will Asami be able to protect us?

Asami emanates professionalism, as if she were in a business meeting with Future Industries's board members. But she's protective as well; Korra can see that shining bright in her eyes. A determination and a bit of stubbornness rising to the forefront. Asami reassures everyone that they've got this, they can do it;  **she**  can do it. Korra feels herself start to relax, surprised that she was even feeling uneasy in the first place. Asami seems to have answered Korra's unspoken questions with her confidence: yes, I'll be able to protect you...all of you.

After a few minor details about who will lead the pack and who will be support, they take the elevator to reach the first floor of Future Industries where the rest of the fifty are waiting.

In the elevator, the air shifts causing Korra to look at Asami. Korra feels a buzzing energy coming from her. It might be excitement or maybe her determination in finally taking down Red Lotus. Either way, whatever Asami is leaking out through her pores is intoxicating and contagious. Korra's own energy starts to hum and build. Maybe it is excitement because that's exactly what everyone's feeling right now. Ever since she became a detective, she's never led a strike team against a terrorist group. It's exhilarating and it makes Korra want to hold on to this feeling until the end of the mission.

Upstairs, Jet and the rest of the fifty are waiting patiently in the lobby. The second the elevator doors open, their heads perk up to watch their leaders exit the elevator. Asami is up front, already taking on her role in leading the pack. She walks confidently. Holding her head high and pushing her shoulders back as if there were strings attached lifting her higher, placing her far above the rest.

It's not cocky or self righteous though. Korra knows that Asami still carries the weight of the world—not just Republic City—on her shoulders. Instead, it feels a lot like a respected leader whose followers will gladly die for her. She can command all of this to her will, simply by being present. It awes Korra to no end. Honestly, she's glad that she can see this side of Asami: the Invisible Hunter.

It's breathtaking.

Korra admits that she forgave the Invisible Hunter, especially for saving the city but she sure as hell hasn't forgiven Asami. She lied and Korra feels used. She feels like a pawn in Asami and Red Lotus's sadistic little game where a young girl kills criminals who have committed unspeakable crimes. Used for what, though? She doesn't know but it's what she feels.

* * *

The drive out to the desert isn't as bad as they thought it would be. They should be arriving at the front door of the headquarters by late evening, when the sun starts to hide behind the mountains. They're split into six teams. Alpha team consists of Asami, Korra, Mako, and Lin. The rest are teams of ten (Bravo, Delta, etc) including a team leader.

They all take Satomobiles out to the desert. It's a quiet drive but not an awkward quiet. It's as if the tension from Asami's arrest had never existed before. Maybe Lin and Mako already forgave the Invisible Hunter too. As for Asami, maybe she's just focusing on the task at hand.

They arrive at the exact time they expected to. The sun is just beginning to hide its legs behind the mountains, creating an orange glow against the barren sand. The gleams catch Asami's silky raven hair that's been tied up into a high ponytail. Wisps of her hair are beginning to fall out. It takes  **all**  of Korra's willpower not to reach out and tuck them behind Asami's ear.

Korra looks to the horizon, watching the sun creep down. The night of their last date falls into place in her mind, digging deep and planting its seeds so it can take root and grow. She doesn't mind though. That's a memory she loves to look back on. Watching the sunset while they watched over their city. Yes, their city. As much as Korra hates to admit it but in one way or another, they've protected the city. Korra during the day and Asami—er, well the Invisible Hunter—at night.

She remembers the soft press of Asami's lips against hers, how it flipped her entire being inside out causing her heart to be opened for all the world to see. If anyone looked close enough, they'd be able to see that Asami had taken permanent residence within her heart that night. When she stopped them from taking the kiss further, she genuinely wanted to take things slow. She respected the CEO and wanted to make sure Asami knew this wasn't just a fling. Korra wanted it to be serious.

But then the blood results finally came back and told Korra what she definitely was not expecting: Asami was the mysterious person fighting Amon.

Asami is the Invisible Hunter.

Part of Korra wants to thank Asami; for saving everyone at the game that night; for risking her life; for keeping Amon distracted enough for Korra to take that shot. The other part though—the hurt and broken part—wants to hate Asami for hiding her other identity, for breaking the trust they had just built, for lying to her. Korra feels that familiar ache in her chest, as if her heart had all but disappeared and all that was left was a void. An endless, painful void with no light to lead the way out. Korra doesn't know if she can trust Asami again.

Plus, they had been trying to catch the Invisible Hunter for months and the culprit was right under her nose the whole damn time. Maybe that's why she's so upset. She's mad at herself for not seeing it sooner, rather than actually being angry at Asami. But Korra couldn't have known. She couldn't have known that the woman she was falling for was a serial killer.

"Ready?" Asami's silky voice cuts through Korra's inner turmoil. Korra swallows down the thoughts, physically and mentally, replacing them with the strategies they went over.

Asami turns her head for a split second and mutters, "Shut up."

Korra raises her eyebrows, no one was saying anything. In fact, no one had responded to Asami's question. But everyone around her seems to ignore the odd behavior or no one actually caught it because Asami quickly whips her head back to the front as if nothing happened. "Ready?" she asks again, louder.

This time the whole groups responds, "Yes ma'am."

Asami turns around, falling into the leader position and heads to the west side.

If someone looked to the east side, they'd be able to see a disturbance in the smooth sand. A small camera sticking out, slowly turning with the group that's currently walking across the desert.

But everyone was too focused on getting to the entrance.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right place, Asami?" Jet asks, her voice carrying over the frustrated silence.

Asami? Since when were Jet and Asami that close for Jet to call the CEO by her first name? Korra knows the telltale signs of jealousy when it's shoved in her face. She frowns, frustrated, now's not the damn time. Korra shakes her head, ineffectively pushing the thoughts aside.

They're gathered in the middle of the desert, facing what they think is the entrance to the headquarters. Except there's nothing there, literally nothing. The sand is perfectly smooth, not a grain out of place. Asami curses and kicks at the annoyingly peaceful sand, sending showers of dirt far into the distance.

_Shit, she's strong._

The group shuffles nervously, seeing the raw display of strength from the Invisible Hunter. Jet clears her throat, "Maybe we should check the other sides?"

A low growl builds within Asami's chest, "No this is it, I know it."

Korra feels a chuckle warming her insides so she bites her lip to prevent it from spilling out. Who knew the CEO of Future Industries was so stubborn.

Asami twists her head to the side, staring into the distance and begins to murmur. "Can you get it open? This is so stupid! Whatever, just get it open. Wha—? No, I'm not looking you asshole. Oh my gods, please just get it open," Asami pinches the bridge of her nose, sighing exasperatedly.

Korra furrows her brows at the odd display and this time, she's not alone. The group starts to murmur, their nerves building thicker than before. Asami blanches, seeming to remember she has an audience. Slowly, she turns around and gives the group a nervous smile, "It'll be open soon." She says, trying to avoid the confused looks.

"Are you talking to someone?" Lin demands, voicing the question no one dares to ask.

"Uh—," Asami stutters, "yes," she admits, her shoulders deflating.

"Who?" Mako asks.

"No," Asami snaps. She cringes at her tone and clears her throat. The next words are smooth and calm, "you don't have to know who it is nor will I tell you. You already have the Invisible Hunter, I'm not going to give you this one."

Korra has to applaud Asami for her fierce loyalty. She can tell it stems from somewhere deeply rooted within Asami. Her conviction so strong it rivals the length of this endless desert. Asami reaches into her ear and pulls out a small metal device, holding it out for everyone to see.

"I can talk to that person through here. It's kind of like a mini phone," she explains. Quickly, she puts it back into her ear and turns to face the supposed door, signaling the end of the conversation.

Oddly enough, no one pushes the CEO. But then again, Korra didn't want to prod either. Asami's right, they already had the Invisible Hunter. They assumed she worked alone and hell, maybe she did for awhile. The other person must believe in what Asami is doing: saving innocent lives. So, against everything Korra believes in, she chooses to have faith in the Invisible Hunter. Maybe even Asami too.

Finally, a hiss fills the silence. Sand starts to fall away, forcing everyone to jump back. The earth is cracking open, the sand flowing like a waterfall into the darkness. Within the minute, the ground clears to reveal a small metal room with no roof. Asami steps close to the edge, peering into it. She cautiously throws a rock inside and waits.

Nothing. It's safe.

Asami is the first to hop down, followed by Alpha team. The rest of the fifty stay above, since the room is too small to fit everyone. "Foxtrot team, you guys stay up here in case anything happens outside," Asami commands.

The Foxtrot leader nods and begins to position his members in a semicircle around the entrance. Inside the metal room, Asami faces one of the walls, "Okay, can you get THIS one open?" A pause. "Yes, yes, I'll teach you how to drive stick." Asami says to the other person with a roll of her eyes.

They must be close. Asami seems so at ease when talking to this person, like they're best friends or something. This must be where that fierce loyalty comes from. An indestructible friendship built from years and years of trust.

Korra feels the smile forming on her face. This is the Asami she knew, the one she spent those dates with. She knows what Asami has been through; what the city did to her, what her father did to her. Yet, through it all, she was able to find someone who would always support her. Korra might be (slightly) mad at Asami right now but it doesn't mean she can't feel happy for the woman. She's still a  **human being**...more or less. Those nanobots in her system still freak Korra out but Asami Sato has  **real**  feelings and despite her betrayal, she honestly deserves the world.

The door finally slides open to reveal a long metal hallway. "Thank gods! You scary genius, asshole! Yes, that's what I'm calling you. They can hear me, you butt." Asami's banter with her friend lightens the heavy mood of anxiousness.

Lin takes a step forward but Asami is quick to thrust her arm out against the chief's chest, earning an annoyed grunt and a deep gasp for air. Fuck, she's strong. When Asami removes her arm, there's a slight indent in the bulletproof vest. "Sorry, Chief," Asami says, using her hand to brush nonexistent dirt off of Lin's vest. "Just...hold on a sec."

The Invisible Hunter picks up a rock and tosses it into the middle of the hallway. Before it even touches the floor, it's eviscerated into particles. The grains of the aftermath sprinkle onto the ground, revealing an intricate design of unseen lasers.

"Wouldn't want you to be a pile of dust," Asami jokes. Inhaling deeply, she gestures for everyone to take a step back, "One minute." Asami steps up to the edge of the hallway and starts to move forward.

Korra bites her lip, willing her body to stay put and not reach her arm out to pull Asami back into safety. The Invisible Hunter knows what she's doing, she can do this. We can do this. The words repeat over and over in Korra's head like an alarm with no snooze button.

Asami is true to her words. She twists and turns expertly avoiding the lasers, showcasing her high level of flexibility. It hasn't even been a minute before she reaches the end of the hallway, opening a panel and fiddling with it. She takes a step back with a triumphant shout, "Come on guys, let's go before they know we're here."

"Pretty sure they already know. It can't be this easy to get in," Jet counters.

Asami confidently winks at Jet and Korra's heart kicks up, feeling the jealousy flood her system, "You never know. Still might be able to surprise them."

"Shut up, asshole," Asami snaps. Her eyes widen, "Oh! No, no! Not you Jet," she points at her ear, "I was talking to the asshole."

Jet chuckles, "All good."

Alpha team edges to the entrance while Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo team line up to jump down. Lin cautiously steps forward, freezing after both feet enter the hallway. She lets out a sigh as she double checks her body hasn't been blasted to dust. Korra and Mako, standing behind the Chief, visibly relax as they follow Asami down the stairs further into the base.

* * *

The first floor—or rather sublevel, Korra thinks—is a slim rectangular but wide area. A desk comes into view the closer the group gets to the end of the stairs. Three guards sit behind it, eyes glued to the screens in front of them.

Wait. If there are cameras here, shouldn't they have seen us already?

"Hey! You're not allowed to—" the man's sentence is cut off by his grunt. Asami is already moving to the next guard who she takes down before he even knows what's happened. She takes down the last guard by somersaulting onto his shoulders and stabbing something into his neck.

Jet whistles, stepping up to the first guy. There's a slim metal object sticking out of his neck, "Sleeping darts," Asami explains.

Korra looks at Asami in awe who hasn't broken a sweat. They saw all of that. Either Asami is saving her energy for Sozin or she's losing her strength. Korra hopes for the latter. Either way, though...it was fucking hot.

_Stop it, Korra._

Jet asked Asami something that Korra didn't catch, "I don't kill innocent people," she responds with a shrug.

Lin checks the pulse of the second guard and nods when she sees that they're still alive.

"Bravo team," Lin calls, "tie these men up, but don't hurt them."

Asami takes a look at the monitors and then behind her where two sets of stairs are on either side of the desk. "I can't find which one to take but it looks like the headquarters are empty..."

"This feels like a trap," Korra says quietly.

Asami looks up and meets Korra's gaze. Korra's heart rate pounds under the intense viridescent stare. Swallowing, Korra moves to stand beside Asami and leans forward to get a closer look. She hears Asami's breath hitch quietly but it happens so silently, she's not sure it even happened at all.

"Look," Korra says, pointing to a screen. It's a view of a large area with rows upon rows of towering structures, "it's empty. And over here, too." She points to another screen that's filled with large machines that appear to be some kind of assembly line. "This looks like a place where they build things but it's empty."

Mako shrugs, "Maybe they have the day off." He moves to the other cluster of monitors to study them as well. Lin joins him a moment later after she makes sure the knocked out guards are properly tied up.

Asami rolls her eyes, "Terrorists don't get days off. We should split up."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Asami?" Jet asks. Her worried face is scrunched up looking a lot like she doesn't want to be separated from the assassin.

Korra fights the glare she wants to fire in Jet's direction.  _Calm down, Jet. Your 'girlfriend' wouldn't leave you._

"Yes, we can cover more ground. Alpha and Charlie team come with me. Bravo, Delta and Echo take the other stairs," Asami orders.

Korra snorts, Charlie team has Jet. Lin glares at Korra who coughs to cover up the snort.

_Smooth, Korra, real smooth._

"Listen, kid," Lin says, placing a strong hand on Korra's shoulder, "you can't be mad at her forever. And," she leans in closer to whisper, "you have no right to be jealous."

Korra growls softly, "I know."

They make their way to the left side where Asami is waiting. If Asami wasn't facing the stairs, Korra would be able to see the slight smirk on the assassin's face.

* * *

"At least there are no traps on the stairs," Mako comments, trying to lighten the tense mood.

"Shut up, Mako, we won't be able to hear anything if you start talking," Korra scolds.

Asami's soft, melodious chuckle from the front makes its way to the back of the group. Korra's lips twist into a small, hidden smile but it falls when Asami's slim hand from the front flies up and halts their movements.

"Wait," Asami hisses.

Frowning, Korra inhales deeply but chokes on a familiar smell. Fuck, it's the metal drawers. Why couldn't they smell it upstairs? They should have if the metal drawers hold the same dead bodies that they found from the labs. Did the door downstairs open? Was there even a door?

Slowly, Asami inches her way down the remaining steps. She presses her body against the wall before the entrance, the rest of the team following suit. Everyone is trying to hold their breaths but their lungs are already screaming for clean air.

 _It's okay_.

Our noses should adjust to the odor soon, right? Hah, who is she kidding, the scent is fucking horrible. Everyone brings their sleeves to their noses, trying to—unsuccessfully—cover the smell. Gods, it's awful.

Korra watches Asami peek around the corner then throw a small object into the vast open room. The sound it makes as it clatters against the floor tells Korra it's made out of metal. The next second, an extremely loud bang floods their ears and a bright light briefly spills into the hallway.

Korra didn't squeeze her eyes shut in time. Her eyes begin to water and her ears ring, everything sounds muffled. Mako's yelling at Asami for not warning them. Jet clutches her ears in pain while Lin simply walks into the open space, eyes peeled looking for threats.  _Jeez, is Lin a robot?!_  Korra sighs, shaking her head to clear the stars from her vision and starts to stand up.

A warm hand darts out, gripping her arm to steady her, "I'm so sorry." An alluring, muffled cadence of a voice pushes its way through the haze. Korra knows that voice anywhere, even if it is a little muted. She looks up and stares into that beautiful green gaze again, immediately entranced. Asami's eyebrows furrow, her eyes soft and concerned. She bites her lip to hide her worry and Korra immediately finds her eyes following the movement.

Korra gulps, "It's uh—," she stands and lightly shrugs off Asami's hand, refusing to look at the defeated way Asami's shoulders fall. "I'm fine," Korra says. She's still hurt by what Asami did; Asami broke her. Acting like a bitch is just her way of pushing Asami away. She doesn't know who to trust anymore or rather,  **how**  she can trust again. She wants to accept this kindness, this Asami she came to know but reality comes crashing down and reminds Korra that Asami lied to her. She wants all this trouble gone: Red Lotus never existing and then the Invisible Hunter would have never been born. She wants to embrace Asami completely, wholeheartedly without having to worry about the safety of the city. When will the pain end?

"It's clear!" Lin calls from within the next room. The smell still lingers, though now it's mixed with smoke from the flashbang grenade.

Asami sighs and moves away from Korra to step into the room, taking the lead. Everyone's flashlights dance across the black, empty room to illuminate their surroundings. Unsurprisingly, Asami doesn't need a flashlight as she navigates through the shelves of metal drawers. There's too many of them, too many failed experiments of Red Lotus. Too many  **real**  human beings in there. Some had families…loved ones. Korra swallows the lump in her throat, holding back the choked sob.

"Over there," Asami whispers. One of the Charlie team members shines his flashlight ahead, showing a set of metal double doors. "Let's go."

"Asami, look out!" Korra screams, charging for the assassin as a deafening gunshot echoes throughout the room.

"Oof, shit," both women fall to the floor and Asami groans as she feels the full weight of Korra's body shielding her. The bullet hits the metal of the door a second after Korra moved Asami to safety.

"Are you okay?!" Korra says, frantically searching the assassin's body for any injury.

Asami smirks, "Is this just an excuse to grope me?"

"Are you okay?!" Korra asks again, ignoring Asami's joke.

"Hey," Asami gently grips Korra's wrists, "hey. I'm okay." She reaches up to brush her fingertips against Korra's cheek, "I'm alive. I'm here. How did you know I was going to get shot?"

Korra's worried eyes search Asami's.

Fuck being mad.

_I'm in love with Asami._

Satisfied that the assassin is really safe, Korra lets out the breath she'd been holding, "I saw a glint in the air from someone's flashlight. It looked suspicious. But good, I'm glad—"

Another gunshot interrupts them, causing them to blindly search for better cover.

"Is everyone okay?!" Asami tilts her head up to yell at their team, genuinely worried about everyone's safety. Korra can't take her eyes off of this intoxicating woman.

Scattered voices answer Asami's question. Mako, Lin, Jet and everyone else are safe. Both women sigh in relief but the danger isn't over. Who's shooting at them? Where are they?

Korra bravely steps out of cover to search the area. Loud clicks domino across the room, the lights above them are turning on. They're bright...shit, they're floodlights. It's going to be harder to see above them now. A shot fires in Korra's direction but Asami quickly yanks her back to safety. The bullet ricochets off the floor a second later.

"Thanks," Korra huffs, "guess we're even."

Asami frowns at Korra like she doesn't approve of keeping score between them, "Stay here, please." Korra snaps her mouth shut while Asami positions herself to kneel and sit back on her heels. She rests her hands in her lap and closes her eyes. Asami stays so still that Korra wonders if she's still alive...or human.

Suddenly, Asami opens her eyes and Korra's graced with her favorite shade of green. But Asami's eyes are hard steel—probably with a plan in mind—flashing dangerously, "Can you shoot the floodlights out?"

Korra squints her eyes as she looks up, "I think so."

Before Asami can respond, multiple shots echo in various spots around the room. Korra can hear the guns of her own team going off but so far no one has cried out in pain. That's good, they're safe.

"Shit," Asami hisses, moving to a spot of cover that doesn't have a floodlight on it. More bullets ricochet in their previous spot. Their cover is another metal shelf holding stack upon stack of metal drawers. Korra hopes that it's not some kind of omen that they're hiding behind dead people. "I thought it was one sniper but maybe there's more."

"Do you know where they are?" Korra asks, hearing more shots trading.

Asami shakes her head but then stops abruptly. A slender hand flies up to her ear, "Say that again?!"

"I didn't—"

"Can you find them? Yes, I'm safe. Okay, fine. Got it. Yes, I can do it."

_Oh, she was talking to her friend._

"They're drones," Asami says as she pulls out multiple deadly-looking knives from within her belt. "Forget about the floodlights, I know what to do."

"Wouldn't we have heard them by now? Aren't drones pretty loud?"

Asami shrugs, "It's Red Lotus, they invented nanobots to make a superhuman, you really think they're not capable of making highly advanced attack drones? I could probably make one."

"Right, well, how do you know?"

"Do you trust me?" Asami stops pulling out her arsenal of knives to stare at Korra.

"No," Korra says truthfully. And it is. She may have realized that she's in love with Asami but it doesn't change the fact that Asami lied to her, going against everything she believed in about justice.

Asami sighs while closing her eyes, she opens them again. Finding Korra's eyes, she stares intently at the azure eyes, "I know, fair enough. But at least believe me on this: I  **will**  protect  **you**. I'll protect everyone."

Korra knows she's telling the truth. There's that determination in her eyes again and Korra really needs to tell her heart to stop racing. She nods, albeit with a bit of reluctance.

"Okay," Asami replies. Her body relaxes slightly at Korra's admittance. "Stay here, I'll be right back."

Korra starts to protest but Asami is already climbing one of the metal shelves. She reaches the top quickly and pauses for a second, making Korra wonder how she's going to reach the metal infrastructure of the—oh, of fucking course, a grappling hook. Korra laughs dryly, that woman is ready for anything apparently. She watches as Asami's figure disappears behind the floodlights, squinting as long as she can to try to find the assassin but the lights are too strong.

Korra slides down the shelf, clutching her rifle. She wants to call out to her team—her friends—to see if they're safe but what if the drones can detect sound? There's nothing she can do. She can't see them, she can't hear them. There's nothing she can do without getting shot herself.

Korra yelps a minute later as a pile of metal crashes to the floor a few feet away from her. She instinctively aims down her rifle, whipping around to check her surroundings. Spotting the pile she cautiously makes her way toward it. The smoking heap is black, broken and has a shiny new knife sticking out of its body. She experimentally kicks it with her boot before she deems it safe to examine. She hears more heaps of metal falling to the ground around her, losing count after the twentieth crash.

The drone looks simple but then again Korra knows very little about drones. The wires stick out haphazardly, the lens on the front is cracked, the rest of its body is shattered revealing the rest of the wires and a long barrel protrudes underneath the eye which tells Korra it's probably where it was firing from.

"It's clear!" Korra hears Asami's yell descend along with the assassin. Before she knows it, Asami lands hard onto the floor, creating a small circular crater around her. It's a superhero style landing.

"Show off!" Jet shouts from a few feet away.

Asami throws Korra a smirk as she stands and gracefully brushes off dust from her suit. The woman hasn't even broken a sweat... **again**. Korra would be lying if she said she wasn't turned on right now.

The rest of the team slowly regroups around Korra and Asami with Asami double checking anyone for injuries. "I mean, do we even need her? She's taken care of everything so far!" Mako exclaims. He's joking, of course, but damn is he right. She's done everything! Without her though, some of them might have gotten hurt, killed even, so Korra is extremely grateful for her presence.

"Let's go," Asami says, ignoring Mako.

They make it back to the double doors where Korra saved Asami's life just a few minutes before. Asami opens the door slightly, making sure there are no more traps. "It's safe, let's move."

Everyone piles into the next room, letting the door shut behind them. It's circular with high ceilings. The walls are smooth except for long indented lines spaced a foot apart around them. The team inspects the lines, it looks like some kind of track. "Can this whole room move?" Lin asks.

While everyone is examining the room, Korra realizes that there's no exit door. Paranoid, she whirls around to check the door they just walked through but the handles won't budge, it won't open.

"Asami! Help me with this door!" Korra shouts. Her tugs become more frantic, pulling at the handles with all the strength she has. Asami starts to make her way over. She reaches Korra's side and extends her arm towards a handle.

Before her fingers can brush it, a large metal sheet slams into place, blocking the door.

"No, no!" Korra shouts. She slams her fist against the wall, hoping it would miraculously slide up again. But it won't budge.

They're trapped.

"Korra," Asami places a steady hand on the detective's shoulder, "we'll find a way out. We can get—Korra?"

Korra's vision starts to blur, she's seeing two Asami's.  _Ooh, that's nice_. But slowly, a black shadow creeps over her eyes. She feels her eyelids getting heavy, her body unwilling to move, her legs giving out underneath her. She braces herself for the impact but it never comes. Something strong wraps around her body and she tries to fight the unknown force. She tries to scream and yell for help but her mouth feels like it's been glued shut. Her arms are heavy and she thinks she's raising a hand out to reach for help but Korra knows her body isn't listening. Everything is muffled, Asami's cries for her safety lost within the shadows

" **Korra!** " is the last thing she hears before she completely gives in to the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hi, hello! Do people still read this? Haha, I hope you remember what's happened! I know it's not the best story and I've been working on writing better. Initially, I was going to wait to post this but it's been so long since I updated and I wanted everyone to know that I really haven't dropped this story. I hope you're all still interested and I'm still incredibly busy with school but I'm still writing. I know it's taking so long but thanks for staying with me. 
> 
> Also, note, the previous chapter was Korra's point of view. We're back to Asami's and we'll stick with her point of view until the end :)

“Korra? Korra!” Asami grips the detective’s form tighter but restrains enough to not hurt her. Hoping her nanobot strength will transfer to the detective is a naive thought but it still crosses Asami’s mind. Tears burn behind her eyes. No, don’t let them fall. Keep them inside. Don’t show weakness to everyone.

Everyone...it’s quiet. Wait.

Asami jerks her head up and looks around her. Sure enough, Mako, Lin, Jet and the rest of Charlie team are on the floor...unmoving.

Fuck. Fuck.

“Asami?” Opal calls for her best friend through the ear piece, “What’s going on?”

“Everyone’s dead,” Asami whispers. She chokes on the sob that escapes her throat while she clutches Korra’s limp body closer to her chest. Rocking back and forth, she’s doing the best she can to stay as strong as possible but it’s not working.

“Asami,” Opal says gently, “did you check their pulses?”

Pulses...right. Lifting a shaking hand, she carefully places two fingers on the side of Korra’s neck. A second passes, then two. Her patience wears thin and she’s about to tell Opal they’re really dead but then she feels a faint thump.

She gasps, bringing her free hand to clutch at her chest. Air floods back into it, expanding her lungs. “She’s alive!” Asami exclaims.

She can **feel** Opal’s eye roll through the earpiece but she doesn’t care. Korra’s alive. That’s all that matters. Still, Opal always finds a way to tease her, “You should have checked those first.” She sighs, “If you’re done being a bi mess, go check the others. I’ll see if I can wake them up somehow.”

Before Asami can even get up, a booming click echoes through the high ceiling room. The hairs on the back of her neck rise as she hears a hiss. A few seconds later red, thick gas starts to fill the room. Looking up and around, she panicks when there’s no source for the gas. Shit. This is **not** good.

“Opal!” Asami yells. She needs to say this. Before she can’t breathe anymore, “It-it’s gas! I don’t know what it does but I can’t hold my breath for long!” If Opal replies she doesn’t hear it. Instead, she inhales a deep, clean breath before the gas envelops her in a red wave.

For a second she considers covering Korra’s face with something, **anything**. But what if she can’t breathe afterwards? Can she give Korra oxygen through mouth to mouth? But they’re both going to faint anyway. There’s no point in doing any of that.

Her vision swims with tiny black and white stars. Her chest starts to ache with lack of oxygen, feeling the muscles of her lungs wanting to expand. She knows she’ll lose consciousness within seconds. There’s nothing she can do.

Her body begins to slump. Limbs become dead weights, bringing her down like cinderblocks thrown into the ocean. Her body collapses completely, she’s not in control anymore. It’s a lost cause to keep holding her breath so she gives in. Lets her lungs expand, filling it with air it so desperately needs. All she gets though is the thick, ugly red gas in her throat and she coughs as it slithers down into her chest.

It’s a struggle to open her eyes but she manages it. Red is all she can see, she can’t even see the outline of Korra’s face who she knows is underneath her.

It takes every ounce of strength to bring her hand up. She can feel the taut muscles of Korra’s chest underneath her palm as she tries to feel for a heartbeat along her pulse point. Gods, it’s so faint. But it’s there so she commits the rhythm to memory. Her breath’s coming in short breaths now and she knows she shouldn’t do that but everything feels so **heavy**. Her lungs demanding clean, sweet air but constricting in pain when the gas is all they receive. The energy it took to bring her arm up was too much. She’s slipping in and out of conscious, doing her best to fight off the gas’s effects. Her efforts...futile.

As she blacks out, Asami focuses on the quiet but steady beating of Korra’s heart underneath her fingertips.

Thump. Thump.

//

Thump. Thump.

Asami wrinkles her nose. The last she remembers is feeling Korra’s heartbeat. There’s knocking on a door that sounds oddly like the detective’s heart but a quick check of her surroundings tells her she’s not encased in sickly red gas.

She’s back at her loft.

Weird.

Brow furrowing, she clambers out of her bed towards the knocking.

She opens the door and yelps when she finds the detective grinning widely at her with perfect pearly whites.

“Korra?” Asami asks. She sticks her head out, peering around the detective to confirm, yep, she’s definitely in her loft. That’s her hallway and the picture of her father posted above a small table at the end. There’s that small gash in the wall from when Opal was wielding one of her weapons and got carried away.

What the hell is going on?

Korra sighs, “Thanks, babe! My hands were full and I couldn’t knock properly. I thought I was going to be stuck out there for hours!” She moves through Asami’s bedroom with the ease and comfort of someone who’s lived there for years. As Korra places her items on the bedside table, Asami’s look of horror and confusion goes completely unnoticed.

Babe?! Asami’s brain short circuits and zeroes in on the detective’s nonchalant use of the word. This can’t be real. Her and Korra, it’s not...no it would never be real. She doesn’t deserve to fall in love after everything she’s done.

This isn’t real.

It’s not and yet, Asami felt her heart bloom and ache with conflicted feelings over the detective’s term of endearment. She wants this to be real. Gods, she wants this so badly but...Asami shakes herself out of the shock.

She opens her mouth to speak but Korra beats her to the punch by pushing a piece of fruit into her mouth. As her lips close around the fruit and Korra’s finger, she sucks on the residual juices. Nipping the tip of the finger, she lets it go with a soft pop.

What the fuck?!

Where did that flirty move come from?!

Despite Asami’s internal freak out, her body responds to the action she just performed, feeling heat pool into her stomach. And if Korra’s dilated pupils and slight smirk are anything to go by, this seems like a normal precursor for them to...you know. Asami clenches her thighs.

Korra takes in all of Asami, watching her fidget and attempt to hide her arousal. The smirk grows wider as she licks her lips. She slowly drags her gaze back up to Asami’s eyes, locking green irises in place. Enraptured, Asami watches as the arousal pushes the black of her pupils closer to the edges almost swallowing the blue. Her breath hitches as Korra takes a slow, deliberate step forward while biting her bottom lip.

Asami shifts her weight again and feels a jolt rock her body.

The jolt felt like it was a result of her physical attraction to Korra. As she approaches, she feels a spike of excitement. Her heart racing with anticipation.

But a moment later, her vision falters cutting out to red and her chest feels like she can’t breathe. It lasts a second then her vision is back to Korra who has finally reached her. “What the—,” she clutches her head and shuts her eyes, willing herself to find something real, substantial. Something that isn’t dream-like. Something that she knows is reality. A reality where Korra hates her, is hurt by her. Where she knows she’ll finish this mission with Sozin dead and her wrists in cuffs. Where she knows she’ll spend the rest of her days rotting in a cell. Where Opal is safe back at the loft, smiling happily with a clumsy Bolin. Where Lin has a permanent scowl on her face and Mako matches it. Where a flirty joyous Jet greets her at the front desk of the precinct, smiling and hopeful. Where everyone is protected, safe, away from harm and the Red Lotus.

This...dream...it’s not real. It can never be real. Because Asami decided to take up this mantle, carrying it on her shoulders letting it weigh her down until her knees are digging into the floor. Because she saw the horrifying experiments Red Lotus was conducting, taking innocent people away from their families. Innocent wives, husbands, daughters, sons, friends. Because no matter the consequences, no matter what her father might have done, she loves her city. She loves her company. She loves her people.

Korra’s face swarms her view and she takes on a ridiculously cute furrow, her eyebrows pinching together in worry, “Babe? Hey, are you okay?”

But the last sentence sounds muffled, like she’s swimming underwater. Another jolt wracks her body leaving itchy tingles at her fingertips and toes. Her vision falters again, this time a room filled with traces of red, bodies everywhere. Somehow Asami knows that this room with hints of red tendrils is her reality. She knows that there will never be a reality where Korra will utter the word ‘babe’ and it will be direct towards her. So she accepts this vision, embraces the red, clings onto that sight. And it holds for awhile longer as another muffled voice fills her head.

“Asami. Asami!”

Korra and the other voice sound extremely worried. Part of her wants to settle here with this wonderful reality and the woman of her dreams, living happily. Peacefully. And if she really looked back, memories flood her mind: an awkward first date, the warmth of Korra’s hand in hers, the moment Korra gets down on one knee and revealing an intricate proposal necklace from the Water Tribe. It’s all there rooted within her heart and mind, making her feel like she really did have this life with Korra. That she offered her place for Korra to move into and she wakes up every morning to breakfast in bed. It’s not real though. She knows that now.

She’s decided to turn away from paradise and face hell. The other voice is getting more insistent, more desperate. Another jolt courses through her. This time though, she can tell it’s electricity. Her vision is back to Korra, who’s now leaning over her while she cradles her body.

“Asami, wake up,” Korra’s mouth is moving but it’s not her voice singing in her ears. It’s...who is it?

Asami squeezes her eyes shut, willing the headache and the memories of a happy life to fade away.

Korra’s worried face melts. No, literally. It’s melting away. The skin slithers across the surface, revealing horrifying flesh and veins underneath. Her mouth is still moving and she sees the gums attached to bare teeth but no signs of what Korra looked like before. A cold shiver runs down Asami’s spine at the sight. Then a final jolt of electricity yanks her completely away from Korra and into a large circular room, bodies everywhere.

It takes her a moment to realize where she’s at, what just happened. There’s a slightly muffled sound in her ear. It grows louder as each minute passes. Without warning, the sound comes through loud and clear. Battering her eardrums incessantly with, “Asami! Wake up, Asami! Damn it!”

“Opal?”

“Oh thank gods. Are you okay?” Asami can imagine the hairs on Opal’s head quickly fading to a snowy white as the woman on the other end exhales a relieved sigh.

“Yeah, I think. What happened?” Her head aches, the air smells metallic, and there’s a very heavy weight pushing down on her thighs.

“That gas. It knocked you out. I don’t know what it did exactly but I had to activate the nanobots in your body to...uh...well shock you awake.”

Ah. That explains **that**. “Do I need to be worried you’ll start controlling me like a puppet?” Asami quips as she attempts to shift her weight. She looks down and sees the limp form of the detective. “Korra!”

She frantically places two fingers against Korra’s neck, struggling to find a pulse.

Thump.

It’s there.

Faint but it’s there.

“Asami, you need to wake them up,” Opal says, pulling her away from her moment of relief.

“Right...,” Asami shakes the detective’s shoulders, not too strong and not too light, coaxing her back to reality. It takes awhile, way too long for Asami to keep her cool. But eventually, Korra starts to stir. The detective’s eyes flicker open and Asami is welcomed by a wave of blue. They’re slightly glossy, still lost somewhere else. It takes all of her willpower to push away the memories—now starting to fade—and leave Korra. She has to wake everyone else up.

//

Groans begin to fill the circular room, ricocheting off of the curved walls. Some are coughing, forcing the remnants of red gas out of their lungs. Mako, Chief Beifong, and everyone else’s voices erupt in a flurry of, “what just happened?”

Just as the fog beings to clear from their heads, Asami hears a scream. “No! Please, please! Stop! Make it stop!” It echoes around the room making it too difficult to pinpoint the origin as Asami frantically swivels her head.

She hears it—the sickening click—a second before it happens and she’s crying out, “No!” just as the gunshot rings in her ear. Asami hears the body thud to the floor to her right where two or three police officers have gathered. One is covering her mouth and looking away while another is clenching their fists. Asami rushes to the body, selfishly praying it isn’t who she thinks it is.

On the floor is a mass of brown hair, the police uniform, a pool of blood slowly pouring underneath, and the lines of red that have veered away from the main mass, snaking its way along the grooves of the metal floor.

Oh gods.

It’s Jet.

Tears have mixed with a nosebleed on Jet’s face, forming a jagged line starting at the edge of nose. Her face is permanently etched into a look of terror. The gun, still smoking from the barrel is gripped by one of her lifeless hands. A sob wracks the body of one of the police officers behind her.

“She was screaming for help but no one was touching her,” says the one with clenched fists, Asami can hear the grinding of his teeth as his jaw works back and forth.

“I—I—she’s—,” the sobbing one struggles to breathe, to speak. Her words start to grow fainter as the other officer gently leads them away from Jet’s body.

Asami respectfully, reverently closes Jet’s eyes. She was young, too young. Unable to experience love, duty, loyalty. To her city, her friends, her family, her future love interest. She was all giggles and smiles and teasing. She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve to suffer whatever she saw while influenced by the red gas.

She deserved a better life.

And it’s all Asami’s fault.

Sorrow and anger rush through Asami’s veins, painfully pulsing and pounding within her head. Her ears ringing as she sits on her knees, hands balled into fists atop her thighs. A warm, familiar hand squeezes Asami’s shoulder and she looks up to see Korra, staring at Jet. She doesn’t say a word but her face tells Asami everything. The hard set of her jaw. The flashing of her eyes which she swears grow a little bit darker. The squeeze on her shoulder tightening by the second until eventually, the hand lets go. “She was too young,” Asami hears the detective say.

Asami takes in a deep, calming breath, focusing on the anger throbbing within her.

Sozin will pay for this.

//

They have no way to carry out Jet’s body to the surface. After Chief Beifong found a door directly across from the sealed off entrance, there was a huge argument on whether they should leave Jet. There was a compromise, at least. Two officers helped carry Jet out of the circular room, carefully placing her beside the exit. Swearing they’ll come back in here to properly bury her, the teams move on. Some hesitating slightly but reason seems to wash over them as they realize that staying with a dead body won’t help them out of this lair.

Asami’s heart breaks with every guilty step as she walks away from the woman who deserved better.

//

Sozin will pay for this.

//

The next room is small, only big enough to fit everyone shoulder to shoulder and back to back. A desk sits in the middle. There’s nothing on it except for a desk lamp but there’s no dust on its surface so it must mean that Sozin and his people frequent this area often; that, or the janitor decided last night was a good night to clean everything.

At first it seems like a dead end but when two sliding doors slither open, revealing a large elevator, everyone knows it’s a trap. Everyone knows...yet they continue forward. Exhausted, angered, and some injured cluster into the elevator. Though they’ve been attacked, broken, and beat up, they hold their heads high. Chins tilted upwards, tight fists by their sides, chests breathing fury into their lungs with every inhale, revenge and resolve with every exhale.

At the forefront stands Asami, staring at the metal doors, fingertips twitching and aching for the cold steel strapped to her forearm. The eagerness of warm blood slipping down her blade and her bare arms.

The look of horror when Sozin breathes his last breath.

He will pay for this.

//

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! And I'm so sorry this is late, I've been busy with school and I'm still taking a summer class lol but I just had to update this because it's been so long. <3


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